Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War
by Pms Akali
Summary: As summer vaction starts, Terra and Aqua are thrown into something beyond their imagination all the while realizing feelings for each other.
1. Introduction

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

It was around noon when the passengers got off the train, among them were Hayner, Pence, Olette,Aqua,and Terra. They quickly got off as the train departed for its next stop. Terra yawned as they got out of the station and outside.

"Man that was boring, but its finally over." Terra complained through yawns as Hayner and Pence were goofing around in front of him.

"Unbelievable Terra. Even on the last day you spend it the same as every one, sleeping!" Exclaimed Olette. "Your lucky they even let you stay at that school."

"Said it'd keep me out of trouble if i stayed in school. As if i was some kind of hoodlum." Terra frowned. "Besides, I was awake for lunch."

"Of course you were. The only thing that excites you at school is the food."

"Especially on pizza day and don't you forget it." Terra said as Hayner and Pence laughed. Olette rolled her eyes at this. "I'm glad at least Aqua isn't as stupid as you three."

"Well i don't think your a bad person at all."Aqua said as she smiled and looked up at Terra who had stopped moving after hearing this. "Terra just isn't a school person. Right Terra?"

At this Terra blushed, which Aqua luckily didn't seem to notice as she walked past. Terra regained himself and quickly caught up to Aqua as the five friends continued on their way home.

Hayner,Pence,and Olette parted halfway since they lived closer to the train station. That left Terra and Aqua alone together for the rest of the thirty minute walk home. Today was a beautiful sunny day, like most days. The gentle breeze felt good against Terra. It was probably around seventy five degrees out and the breeze seemed to make everything more soothing. Even the clear blue sky, save for a few small clouds that over looked Twilight Town seemed to be perfect as if complimenting the last day of school and the start of summer vacation.

Terra and Aqua walked in silence just enjoying the worry-free day and each others' company.

_Aqua..._

Terra and Aqua had been childhood friends as long as they could remember along with Ven. After Ven went to go live with his Grandmother, Terra and Aqua's friendship grew closer. But now both seventeen, Terra had formed deeper feelings for her. As they walked Terra watched Aqua from behind. Her hair was a beautiful blue with eyes to match. When they first met Terra had said how much he liked her hair as it was his favorite color. He said they should become best friends because of it and from that day forward they hung out almost everyday. Of course Hayner,Pence, and Olette joined their circle of friends eventually, but Aqua was his closest friend. Terra wondered if she had similar feelings. He doubted she liked him as much as he liked her though. After all he didn't think himself all that great. He slept during class. He had a kind heart and cared very much for his friends. He'd do anything to protect them, especially Aqua. Terra figured she wanted more than a good heart in a guy and lets face it, That and some basic sword skills he gained while practicing with struggle bats against Ven were all he had. To be honest Terra didn't really know what Aqua was looking for in a man, let alone what she saw in him.

_"Well i don't think your a bad person at all."_

"Hey Aqua?" Terra asked.

"Yeah, what is it Terra?" a puzzled look on her face from the sudden question.

"Back there, at the train station, did you really mean what you said about me?"

Aqua stopped moving and looked back at Terra. A few,uncomfortable seconds went by. "Of course i did, why do you ask?"

Terra looked into Aqua's eyes and started to blush again. "Errr..i just...thanks, thanks for not treating me like everyone else does."

Aqua smiled and said. "Well yeah we've been friends for a while, i think we know each others' hearts by now."

Terra looked away turning a little darker red and continued to walk. From behind Terra, Aqua continued to smile.

_"I know you Terra."_

Terra's house was before Aqua's, though they only lived a block apart. They said their goodbyes and parted. When Terra got home, he put his bag on the table and grabbed a soda from the fridge like he did everyday. Terra never actually did his work. The only reason he brought his bag was out of habit. His mother always made sure he took it before leaving for school. After she died a few years back he kinda brought it for her rather than himself. Terra lived alone. He never knew his father. apparently from what his mother said he died shortly after Terra was born. Terra remembered how he would sometimes hear his mother crying in her room. One time he heard her laughing in her sleep. Probably thinking of a time when they were still together and happy. She said how much Terra looked like his father and how she would sometimes get sad whenever she looked at him, she sometimes looked close to bursting out with tears_._ But she was always strong in front of him and was always there for him doing everything a good mother could. Terra did love her and respected how strong she was for a single parent. But...

One day on his way home from school, he found his mother lying on the floor. After the doctor showed up he concluded she had a really bad fever. Terra spent all night trying to comfort her. Unfortunately, she was getting worse. Then late that night she passed away. The doctor said this wasn't a sudden illness. She had been suffering from depression for years and she couldn't take it anymore. Terra blamed himself for never seeing the signs. His friends and teachers said it wasn't his fault, but he knew better. He could of done more for her.

After that day, he stopped doing his school work. He eventually got over it and occasionally visited his mother's grave from time to time. He didn't really change much aside from his attitude in school. He was still the same Kind hearted Terra.

**Author's note: This was my first ever fanfic I've ever done so please be gentle, im sure your bound to find errors everywhere, but I hope I didn't do too bad and I hope you enjoy. Please review and critism is appreciated**


	2. Sea Salt ice cream and yellow eyes

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 2

Terra walked to the living room, sat down on the couch, and turned on the TV. After channel surfing for a few minutes and after seeing a commercial for the annual Struggle tournament that was held every year a week before school started, Terra turned it back off. Terra wasn't much for TV. He decided to go upstairs.

Upstairs there was an ordinary hallway. On the left was a bathroom. The door was open slightly. Inside was a normal white toilet and shower. Across was a beautiful marble counter with a big mirror. Terra looked into the mirror at his own reflection. Nothing much changed since he was a child, except now his hair was grown out. The sides went down past his face. In the middle his hair went back at an angle which ended with more spikes towards the back. His eyes were a bright blue, similar to Aqua's except hers were more gentle looking. Terra was also built. Spending long hours sparring Ven and Hayner gave his body a nice firm build. The occasional push-ups seemed to help too. Terra didn't stand out much aside from his clothes that is. Not many people,in fact no one he knew wore clothes like him. His attire consisted of a black/grey short sleeve T-shirt. Two red bands went over it forming a cross from his shoulders to his waist. Below that he had a black belt tied around his wast keeping his large hakama pants up. His pants were like normal pants except at the bottom where they shot outwards making them baggy yet comfortable and easy to move in. Terra walked back out into the hall.

Next to the bathroom was his mother's room. After she died, he only went in there to smell the scent his mother always carried. Which was almost everyday. He opened the door, inside he got the scent of flowers. His mother loved flowers. She even had her own garden at one point. He looked around at the empty room. Years of dust collected on the dresser and night stand. Terra sat down next to the bed and stared out the window. Kids were happily playing in the streets and in their yards now that school was out everyone was enjoying themselves. Terra got up and headed for his room which was across from the bathroom and his mother's room.

Inside his room was a computer desk with a PC and a table lamp on top. Terra hardly used his computer, but he or Aqua when she visited, often sat in the chair. Next to his desk was his bed. Nothing special about it. It was comfortable though, and big enough for two. When they were little, Aqua and Terra used to sleep together in it. Of course that was before hormones existed. Aqua's mother would probably have a fit if they tried that now. Sunlight poured in from the window next to his bed. The window was open so all the breeze and outside noises came through. There wasn't much else except a closet at the opposite end of the room and a Blitz Ball poster hanging on the wall. His Struggle bat was lying against the door. One year Ven decided to enter the Struggle tournament only to lose 1st place to Seifer. Seifer made fun of him for a week after that. Seifer only won because he fought dirty. Pretending to be hurt then smacking a concerned off guard Ven in the head. Terra finally challenged him to a fight, and after beating him silly and running away with Rajin and Fuujin he stopped bugging Ven. The guy was a creep. Terra decided to spend a couple hours relaxing.

Terra heard a knock at the door. Throwing his now empty soda can away, he ran down stairs to get the door.

"Hi Terra!" Aqua said happily.

"Oh hey Aqua, whats up?"

"Hayner and the others went to the beach earlier and now the four of us are going out to grab some Sea-salt ice cream, do you wanna join us?" she asked

"Sure that'd be great." said Terra happy to have something to do with his friends.

They left Terra's house at around five and went to go meet the guys at the train station. "So what are you gonna do now that schools out?" Aqua asked.

"Haven't really thought about it much, what about you?" Terra asked as they were getting closer to the station.

"Well, we should hang out more now that we have free time." They walked past some elderly couple who were enjoying the quiet and a man taking out his garbage. "We could go to the beach and watch movies or go out for pizza and ice cream."

"Yeah sounds like fun." Terra said.

They spent the rest of the walk planning out their vacation and talking about school and random things. It was then that Terra noticed him. Far to the left on top of a building was a man in a black and white coat. It was hard to tell from far away, but it looked like the coat went down to the man's ankles above black, knee high boots. His pants were also black. On his shoulders were two black shoulder guards. He wore White gloves to hide his hands. Above on his chin, was a grey goatee. The only hair on his bald head besides his equally grey eyebrows. But what struck out most to Terra wasn't his goatee or smirk he had. It was his eyes, his cold _yellow_ eyes.

"What's wrong Terra?" Aqua asked worried and confused at Terra who suddenly stopped walking.

Terra looked back at her. "Look over there that-" Terra's eyes widened.

Aqua looked to where Terra was facing. "I don't see anything. What are you looking at?"

Terra sighed. "It's nothing. Never mind I think my eyes are seeing things." Though Terra wasn't fooling himself much. They continued on their way to the station.

They finally made it to the station. The station overlooked a large balcony. From it you could see most of Twilight Town and the plains past the town. Hayner and the gang were waiting patiently when Aqua and Terra showed up.

"Hey you two!" yelled an excited Olette. Which they in turn greeted back.

After they got their ice cream and after Aqua had to pay for a guilty Terra who forgot to bring money, they decided to take the long way back. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were talking about their day while Aqua and Terra were listening from behind them. Terra was only half listening. He couldn't stop thinking about that man.

_"What was with that guy, and why was he looking at me? I've never seen him before, have I? What was with those eyes too? They were freaky."_ Terra thought.

Aqua seemed to notice. " Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"

Terra looked up from his melting ice cream. "Aqua, remember before the train station?"

"You mean when you stopped?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah. I saw a man on top of the roof. He was looking at me with these...yellow eyes, but when you looked he vanished!" Terra exclaimed.

"Really? Why was a man on top of the roof looking at you?" Aqua asked confused.

"I'm not sure. I never met him before." Terra said. " He was strange. He wore a giant coat and was bald with a goatee."

"I've never seen a man like that before. Terra are you sure-"

"Yes! Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't make it up!"

"OK. Just asking. Maybe you'll meet him again."

"I don't think i want to." Terra replied

Later that night while Terra was trying to fall asleep, There was a knock at the door.

Terra looked at the clock. 1:44 AM. _"Who would visit at this hour?" _Terra thought. _"Maybe Aqua needs someone to comfort her after a nightmare."_ Terra joked to himself.

Terra got downstairs to hear more knocking. "Yeah just a sec, I'm coming." Terra said through a yawn.

Terra got to the door and turned the knob. "Nice night, don't you agree Terra?" It was the man from before. His grin couldn't hide the true intention his eyes showed. Before Terra could react, the man lifted his hand and a second later a blast of air hit Terra in the stomach sending Terra flying into his kitchen table. Terra coughed as the yellowed-eyed man walked calmly towards him.

"Terra it's time you started learning about your destiny." he laughed.

"My destiny?" Terra sat up. "What the hell are you saying old man?"

"Oh?" a surprised look in his eyes. "You mean you don't know?" he mocked.

Terra had no idea what this guy's problem was, but he didn't feel like sticking around to find out. He ran past him, who didn't really try to stop Terra either._" Why did he let me go?" _Terra wondered.

Terra didn't think about it for too long. As he ran upstairs into his room, he grabbed his Struggle bat and jumped out his window. It was the second floor so as Terra landed he rolled at the last second to safely land on the sidewalk below (which he did several times when he was younger).

He ran down the night was calm save for a cat who got spooked by Terra and ran off knocking down some trash cans. The full moon was out and Terra would of admired it if he weren't in this situation. He was running for a good three minutes and there was no sign of yellow eyes anywhere. Maybe the old man couldn't keep up. That was good.

Terra reached a intersection and standing under the street light was Yellow eyes. "Wow Terra, that wasn't very nice running away like that, don't worry though i locked up before I left." he said with an evil grin.

**Author's note: Heres chapter 2. A little bigger than ch1, sorry its still kinda boring, but next chapter should have more action in it once i get to writing it. I hope you take the time to read my fic and remember to review please.**


	3. Terra's destiny and an offer

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 3

"How?" Terra asked surprised. He backed up a couple of feet and raised his Struggle bat.

Yellow Eyes just stared, a wide grin forming on his face. "What are you going to do with that toy?" He raised his hand. "Firaga!" as a fireball formed in his hand.

Terra raised his bat as Yellow Eyes shot the fireball, making the bat explode and sending Terra back ten feet into the street.

"It's time you learned Terra." he said. Terra coughed as he struggled to get up. Yellow Eyes suddenly warped in front of Terra.

"W-what are..." Terra started as Yellow Eyes grabbed his head, Terra winced from the pain and then everything went dark.

Terra stood up. "Where the hell...?" Terra was standing on a platform that overlooked nothing. On the platform was a picture of Terra. His head was hanging down obscuring his face. Surrounding him were 5 smaller pictures. Each of someone he knew. Hayner, Pence, Olette, Ven, and Aqua were staring ahead with blank expressions. All around him was darkness. He looked over the edge and the pillar went down several feet before disappearing into darkness. "Where is this place?" Terra asked

A voice suddenly spoke.

_You need to unlock your powers. Do you understand?_

"What?" Terra felt his hand twitch and looked down.

His hand started to glow and a bright light blinded him for a second. After the light died down, in his hand, was a sword or so he thought anyway.

_Keyblade._

"Keyblade?" Terra repeated. And in fact it did look like a long ancient key. The grip itself was grey, surrounded by a blue double sided hand guard. The blade was a golden brown color like copper. At the end were three teeth just like a key, and on the other side in the same place were three more teeth but shorter. The top looked like a fan almost.

_A weapon created from the heart, the Keyblade's chosen hero of light's weapon to defend against evil. Lets see how well you fare._

The voice went quiet and Terra swung his Keyblade a few times. The blade was surprisingly light despite its look. "_This will be good"_. Terra thought.

Suddenly out of the darkness came a giant fist. Terra barely dodged out of the way of it. The creature was big. It towered over Terra like a black giant with weird tentacles of hair and yellow eyes. _"Yellow eyes. Just like that man"_. he thought.

_Use the Keyblade to save your life Terra, least the darkness take hold of your heart._

The giant heartless slammed its arm into the pillar, creating a circle of darkness. Its head lowered towards the ground staring at Terra. Terra decided to attack now. He ran to its head and stabbed at it and then followed up with a sideways slash. The giant roared as he pulled a ball of energy out of the ground.

_"What's that?" _Terra wondered.

As the giant lifted the ball of energy, it exploded into many tiny balls of energy which fell to the ground. Terra clumsily dodged the balls. It took about 10 seconds to dodge them, which luckily, Terra dodged all of. It then opened another dark circle where two little black creatures came out of. Their little heads looking around excitedly with two long antenna. They were about half the size of Terra with long claws and yellow eyes, the same as the giant's.

_Can you do it Terra?_ the voice asked.

One of the creatures warped into the ground and disappeared. It reappeared under Terra and shot its claw out. Terra jumped up to avoid it, but was hit by the other one. Terra hit the ground, but quickly bounced back up on his feet. Terra swung at the creature then quickly spun around to slice the other, killing both in his path. Terra didn't notice the giant hand which hit Terra and almost threw him off the edge. Terra got back to his feet staggering a bit and looked at the giant.

"Damn!" Terra said getting frustrated.

Terra ran slashing furiously at its legs. After the fifth slash, it fell to all fours. Terra then jumped into the air (something he practiced during his sparring with Hayner) and came down hard with a downward slice onto the giants head. The giant roared again as he got up weakly and staggered a bit before falling. Terra just managed to get out of the way. Unfortunately the weight of the giant's fall shattered the pillar. Terra fell, with all the shards of stained glass into the darkness. Fast.

As Terra fell, the voice spoke again._ Well done, your heart won this time. Dont forget Terra, Your greatest weapon is your heart and determination. Your will power will give you the strength you desire._

Terra felt three things when he came back to the dark street in Twilight Town. The cool night air rushing past his sweat coated face, the grip on his newly acquired Keyblade, and...his throat being crushed by Yellow Eyes' hand. Terra Wheezed as he swung upward. Yellow Eyes jumped back before Terra could do any damage.

"Well now!" he chuckled. "Now things get interesting huh Terra?" Yellow Eyes extended his arm out as darkness spread forming a long blade. A Keyblade. Its' hand and finger guards were black with strange elaborate designs. The blade itself looked like it was cut in half, but connected at the top where three teeth in the shape of a claw, with one on the opposite side were.

"You have one too!?" Terra asked in belief.

He raised his Keyblade and said "You can call me Xehanort." He then rushed at Terra. Terra sidestepped his attack and made one of his own, but Xehanort effortlessly blocked it and shot a wave of lightning which hit Terra and he crumpled to one knee. Xehanort swung his Keyblade down onto Terra, but Terra saw it and quickly threw his Keyblade up with both hands to block it. Even with Terra's strength, he couldn't keep Xehanort off. Xehanort's strength was unbelievable. Every hit he made came crashing down onto Terra's Keyblade. Sparks lit up the street corner. Terra's arms were starting to burn. Finally Terra couldn't hold onto his Keyblade and it was tossed out of his hands and thrown into the street. Xehanort then shot a ball of air, which sent Terra flying onto his back with a loud thud. Terra's keyblade disappeared in a flash of light leaving a hurt Terra looking up at a laughing Xehanort.

"Haha, is that it Terra?" he mocked. Terra got up and threw a punch at Xehanort, but he easily dodged it and kneed Terra hard in the stomach. As Terra hunched over, Xehanort then hit Terra in the back of the head. Terra fell forward cursing.

"Your like a child. How stupid to attack me unarmed." he chuckled. "You cant even summon your Keyblade, can you?" he chuckled again.

Terra just looked down angry and helpless. Xehanort made his Keyblade vanish and picked Terra off his feet with only one arm. Xehanort looked at Terra smirking. Terra looked back with angry eyes. "Are you angry boy?" he said in a mocking yet angry tone.

Terra just continued to glare. With his free arm Xehanort slugged Terra across the face, a little blood dripped down his mouth. "Terra, you don't know the meaning of Keyblade master yet."

"Keyblade...master?" Terra asked weakly.

Xehanort jumped up and threw a spinning back kick which sent Terra to the ground once more. "Yes like the power i wield. You don't understand true power, but i could show you. What do you say Terra?" he offered.

Terra mumbled something. "What was that?" Xehanort asked.

"I told you to piss off!" Terra laughed.

Xehanort's yellow eyes narrowed in anger. "You have any idea who your messing with boy?" Xehanort spat. "I'm years beyond you, you have no hope of winning this war boy."

"War?" Terra asked confused.

"Yes Terra. The war between light and darkness. The war that fate decided to drag us in. You are now apart of it and you will see the things i will bring about." Terra sat up as Xehanort put his hands behind his back and walked a few feet towards Terra under the street lamp.

"I think you've lost it." Terra said as Xehanort looked at him again with angry yellow eyes.

"No I've gained something Terra." he said wile moving his arms up. Terra noticed Xehanort liked using his hands when he spoke.

"Well the Keyblade chose me too so I guess I just need to beat you down before yo win right?" Terra mocked.

Xehanort kept staring. "Ahhh of course Terra." he said with an equally mocking tone. "Oh but Terra, I don't think you could actually cause me any trouble with how weak and pathetic you are. The boy who sleeps during class and who has no family." Xehanort laughed and Terra got angry.

Xehanort frowned. "Well you do have promise." Xehanort said as he examined Terra with his eyes. "Or do you?" Xehanort raised his hand as sparks of electricity formed around his fingers. Terra closed his eyes awaiting the pain.

Then a blast of ice hit Xehanort in the chest. Xehanort snarled and stepped away from Terra. "Who's there?" Xehanort asked.

A woman emerged from the shadows, wearing a blue tank top and a blue denim skirt with knee high brown boots, holding a Keyblade.

"You have one as well?" Xehanort asked surprised.

"Aqua!?" Terra said just as surprised.

Aqua rushed over to Terra who was still laying in the street. Xehanort teleported onto a nearby roof.

They both looked up at him. "Well this is certainly interesting." he laughed. "We will meet each other again soon I promise, especially you Terra." he said as a dark portal opened behind him and he stepped in, leaving a surprised Aqua and Terra alone in the night streets.

"I got here just in time." Aqua said between gulps of air.

Terra finally unable to bare it any longer, coughed. The last thing he saw before succumbing to exhaustion was Aqua's worried expression and then he passed out.

**Author's note: This chapter was about the same length as the last, still kinda short they should start getting longer i hope. There was more action in this one and I hope I didnt rush it too bad. The story should be picking up once they leave Twilight Town so please be a little more patient and please read and review**


	4. Relaxation and the start of a journey

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 4

Terra...Terra...show me your power! Terra lunged at the man, but he faded away. Now Terra was standing on soft grass with the wind blowing gently and clouds floating lazily up in a clear blue sky. Aqua walked up to him and they sat watching Hayner and Pence spar with struggle bats. Olette was relaxing under a tree.

Then a dark portal appeared and a man walked out. Xehanort. He materialized his black keyblade and casually walked up to Hayner and Pence, who were too distracted to notice him raise his blade high in the air.

"NO DON'T!" Terra begged, but it was too late. With one magnificent swing both boys crumpled to the ground dead.

Terra and Aqua were now in a place he didn't know. There were pillars of rocks and no plant life around. The dry ground stretched endlessly leading to a setting sun.

Aqua then charged at Xehanort, but her efforts were all in vain. Xehanort easily stepped out of the way rendering her attacks useless. "Aqua wait!" Terra yelled.

Xehanort laughed and slashed upwards through Aqua's chest. Blood shot out as Aqua's eyes glossed over and she too crumpled to the ground. Terra in raged, charged with his summoned keyblade at Xehanort. Xehanort only laughed again. "Come boy. Your friends are waiting."

Terra woke up with a start. "Xehanort!"...

Terra looked around. He was laying on his couch in the living room. Sunlight poured in through the window. He looked at the clock. 11:36 A.M. Terra could smell food cooking and Aqua walked in. "You're awake!" she said relieved. " You must be hungry. I'm making your favorite, pancakes. It'll be ready soon." she said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Terra remembered the night before. "Where's Xehanort?" he asked worried. From the kitchen Aqua said. "Don't you remember? He disappeared. Then you passed out so I brought you back here. Hope you don't mind, but I stayed the night."

She walked back to the living room and handed Terra his plate, and then sat next to him with her own plate. "Thanks." he said.

A few minutes went by as they ate in silence. Terra didn't realize how hungry he was until he started eating. Last night took out of him more than he thought. Then Terra realized something. "Hey Aqua?" he asked and Aqua suddenly looked up. "Yeah what's wrong?" "Nothing, it's just...last night, you had a keyblade too."

" Yes. I had a dream where a voice called out to me, except it felt more real than a dream. At first i thought it was just that, but then i subconsciously made it appear. Obviously I couldn't sleep after that so I went to go tell you. Then eventually i saw you with that man. I was so surprised and worried I accidentally shot ice at him. I didn't even know how."

"Yours came in a dream?" " Man, mine came in the form of a painful vision thanks to Xehanort." "Xehanort?" she asked confused.

" The man you saw with me." Terra replied. " Oh i see." Aqua then stood up and summoned her keyblade. Terra did the same, though he had more trouble summoning it. " I don't really get what these are or who this Xehanort guy is, but I think someone like that can't be left alone. He also told me about some plan and how i was apart of it." Terra looked at his keyblade again. " For whatever reason, we have these and I think it's up to us to stop him...and those black creatures."

" Those things in my dream?" Aqua asked. "Yes. I think somethings about to happen and soon." Terra said.

There was a knock at the door then. Aqua and Terra made there keyblades disappear and he walked over to the door. When he opened it up Hayner, Pence, and Ollete were standing there. "Hey Terra." said Hayner. He then noticed Aqua behind him. " Oh your here too. Wanna hang out today. We're probably gonna get some Sea salt ice cream and just goof around."

"Uhh sure sounds good. Let me just wash up first." Terra came back down ten minutes later as everyone was outside waiting for him. He closed the door behind him and they started walking.

They picked up the ice cream and headed to the park. As they walked they chatted about random stuff and laughing at jokes. Terra was behind thinking about everything that happened. _What's going on? _he thought.

"Hey Terra!" Terra looked up snapping back to reality. " Huh?"

"Hurry up would ya?" Olette exclaimed. " Oh sorry." he said and he ran to catch up with his friends. _No use in worrying about it now. _

Half an hour later they arrived at the park. There was plenty of grass with sidewalks leading to everywhere. In the center was a beautiful pond. Fish were swimming energetically in it. It was another nice day out, with blue skies and clouds, and a big bright sun. Aqua and Olette decided to go sit under a tree and started chatting. Hayner and Pence were goofing around and managed to both fall into the pond. Terra looked to the left to see a small playground. There was a mother and her child playing on the swings. The child was laughing and begging the mother to push harder. Everything was peaceful Terra thought.

Past the Playground was a line of trees. Terra walked past them to find an empty court, most likely for struggle practice. _This spot is perfect._

A few hours went by. Five Aqua guessed by the sun's position. " It's getting kinda late." Olette said yawning. Hayner and Pence got out off the ground brushing grass and dirt off themselves. "Guess we should head back." Suggested Pence. " Where's Terra?" he asked.

" I don't know. He's been gone all day." Aqua now realized. "Ok we'll see you later than. Tell Terra we said bye." Hayner said. The trio then head out of the park. Aqua looked around the now empty Park. She walked around the pond for a few minutes. A light evening breeze blew through her azure hair. She walked over to the playground and soon heard noises coming from behind the trees. She parted the trees to find Terra panting heavily and sweating, His keyblade in his hand.

"So this is where you've been all this time." Aqua said. Terra looked over to where Aqua was. " I was...just practicing." he said through gulps of air.

Aqua and Terra were standing in the middle of the court. "You know..." Aqua started. Terra looked up. "I was really worried about you the other night." Terra was silent. "Are you sure about this?" "About what?" Terra asked. "Finding about keyblades and that Xehanort guy?" she responded.

Terra stared out to the city streets and was silent for a moment before speaking. "I don't know. But I do know i want to see where all of this leads and also...I'm worried about what Xehanort said to me. I know he'll be back and I want to be ready for him this time." Aqua stared at Terra. "I want..." she paused as a man quietly walked up to them.

"Hello Aqua, Terra." Aqua stepped back closer to Terra. Terra spoke up. "Who are you...and how do you know our names?"

The man was wearing a robe that covered his whole body. It was mostly white with a red line going down both sleeves. which connected in the center of the chest with a red diamond. Covering his feet were white boots to match. His face was marked with age. He looked to be at least sixty. He had a white beard similar to Xehanort's goatee. His eyes were old looking, but had brilliant green pupils. He was wearing a white pointed hat on top to match the robes.

" My name is Master Zenthus and I've been watching you two for days now. I must admit Terra, you had a close call with Xehanort."

"You know him?" Terra asked as he summoned his keyblade with a fierce look on his face. "Easy Terra. I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to take you and you Aqua." Terra lowered his weapon. "Take us where?" Aqua asked worried.

"I'll tell you on the way, but first we need to leave the town." "We cant leave. What about our friends and family?" Aqua asked.

Master Zenthus gave a smile. "Ah yes, don't worry about that. They will be informed later." "So we're just gonna leave without saying anything!?" Aqua exclaimed. "Terra say something to him."

Terra stared at Master Zenthus for a moment. "You know about these keyblades and all the stuff that's been going on?" "That's correct." Master Zenthus replied.

"Terra! You're not really going with him are you?" "I'm...going with him." Aqua looked disappointed at that.

Master Zenthus walked closer to Aqua. "Please Aqua we need you and Terra."

Aqua looked at Terra and then at Master Zenthus, and then at Terra again. "Fine I'll go." Terra smiled. "But only because Terra's hopeless without me." "What's that suppose to mean?" Aqua laughed and so did Terra.

"Good." Master Zenthus clapped his hands together. "Shall we get going now?" Terra, Aqua, and Master Zenthus headed for the train station.

**Author's note: Another chapter finished. Things will now start to pick up. I just needed to get them out of Twilight Town. Read and review please.**


	5. A new set of wheels

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 5

Terra was standing in the streets of an old decaying Twilight Town. Dust had collected over everything as if it had been years since anyone lived in the town. Lamp posts were cracked and empty. Buildings were dark and crumbling. There was no one anywhere for as far as Terra could see. Terra walked down the street, and as he turned the corner he saw... Aqua? She turned to face him, a sad look in her eyes. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Aqua what hap-" Terra stopped mid sentence as he saw the familiar bald head and yellow eyes staring back at him. Xehanort walked up beside Aqua.

"Hey Terra! How are you? Like what I've done with the place?" he asked sarcastically while taking a few steps towards Terra.

"Bastard!" Terra angrily charged at Xehanort and then...

Terra woke with a start. As he sat up he became more aware of his surroundings. The low hum of the train was the only sound, besides the turning of pages as Aqua quietly read a book. The room was one you would expect a train car to be. Windows lined the whole car so you could anything and everything outside. There were 12 seats on each side of the car, with compartments above each to store belongings in. Three sets of lights hung in the middle illuminating the whole thing. Terra looked out the window. They had already left Twilight Town, and from the looks of it they were about an hour away. Green fields were passing by, disappearing in the evening sunset. Terra spotted a few cows grazing and birds flying by.

Terra stood up. "Where's Zenthus?"

Aqua looked up from reading. "Terra you're awake. Master Zenthus is in the back room why?" she asked curious.

"Ok thanks." Terra ignored the question and headed for the back room.

As Terra entered the room, he saw Master Zenthus examining his watch. The room was similar to the one him and Aqua were in, except at the end there was no door.

"Can I talk to you?"

Master Zenthus looked up at Terra. "Ah Terra come, sit down."

Terra walked over and sat across from Master Zenthus." What is it you would like to discuss Terra?" he asked.

"Well..."Terra said a little hesitantly. "I had a dream about Xehanort...twice."

"Ah." Master Zenthus sighed. "He is an intimidating man indeed. You're worried you will have to face him again.

Terra looked down ashamed that he wasn't strong enough to defend himself against Xehanort.

"Don't worry Terra. You will come to understand the keyblades and the power you wield in time." Master Zenthus said. "You and Aqua."

"Is that where we're going? To get stronger?" Terra asked.

"Yes that is correct. We're going to Stillius. It's a school that teaches magic and swords, and of course with special cases like you and Aqua, training to become Keyblade Masters."

"Keyblade Masters?" Terra repeated.

"Yes. You and Aqua will learn to effectively use the powers of the Keyblade" Master Zenthus replied. "But first we need to get to the airship."

"Airship!?"

"Yes. It's very nice. Now I need to get some rest until we get there. Is there anything else?" he asked

"No." Terra said.

"Good night Terra."

"Good night" Terra repeated.

When Terra returned to the front room Aqua had put her book away and was now staring out the window at the night sky. Terra walked up and sat down in his seat. Aqua looked at Terra. "So what did you go see Master Zenthus for?"

"I just asked him where we were going." Terra decided to leave out the dream part. " He said we're going to some magic school to learn how to use these Keyblades."

"Ok. How long do you think we will be there?" Aqua asked.

"No clue. As long as I get stronger that's all that matters right?"

"Yeah and I'll keep an eye on you." Aqua said happily.

Terra opened the compartment above him and grabbed two pillows and blankets, and handed one set to Aqua. They shut off the lights and went to sleep.

Terra woke from the sunlight peeking in through the window and sat up. Aqua woke up too.

"Morning" she said.

"Morning."

Master Zenthus walked in as they were putting their stuff away. "Ah you're both awake, good. I was just about to wake you anyways. We're about to get off.

And sure enough, ten minutes later the train stopped at the station. Master Zenthus, Aqua, and Terra stepped out of the station and onto the brick street. They walked for another fifth teen minutes or so passing houses and signs. Terra was excited since he never saw this town before, hardly ever left Twilight Town. He was enjoying seeing the outside world. Aqua seemed just as excited. She was looking at everything as they passed by.

They made it to a dirt path covered by trees. It seemed the trees were not in the way though, as if someone had cleared it. As they walked Terra noticed Aqua a little more. She was beautiful in the sunlight and shadows cast by the trees. Aqua noticed Terra staring and asked him what was wrong, in which Terra turned a slight shade of pink and could only reply with a weak "It's nothing."

They soon saw a clearing, and when they stepped out of it, Terra and Aqua did a simultaneous jaw drop. Above them in the sky, was a massive blue and white airship." This is the Sierra." Master Zenthus explained.

It was shaped a little like a bird. The bottom was rounded like an old Gallion, like what pirates used to use. The top was rounded too,except a little flatter and longer, and had a mast with a huge sail that curved backwards. The front had what looked like a dove's head and beak. Inside the beak was a powerful cannon. Above and before the head was a big deck with railings to keep from falling. Behind the deck was the cockpit. Next to it was a door, probably leading to the inside interior. There were two walkways on either side of the cockpit leading from the front deck to the back of the ship connecting to another deck similar to the front. In the back were 3 engines. Two on top and one in the middle below them. The engines were shooting a steady stream of blue energy. Terra figured it wasn't fire from the look of it. It was something else. There were also many windows on the side along with four cannons, which Terra guessed were four more on the other side. The ship was mostly white with some shades of blue that gave it an ocean feel to it.

"Well shall we?" Master Zenthus aimed his hand in the air and shot a fireball into the air and within seconds it exploded. Master Zenthus explained that it was a signal so the pilot could see them and land.

The Sierra started to descend, but didn't touch the ground. It hovered a few feet above the ground. Master Zenthus explained that there was magic that kept it floating all the time as if reading Terra's mind. "Is that what's coming out of the engines?" Aqua asked.

"That's right." he replied.

A door opened up at the bottom and Master Zenthus, Aqua, and Terra entered it. They were in what appeared to be basement. There was some boxes stacked and barrels lying around. "This way." Master Zenthus said and they climbed the stairs.

They exited the staircase and entered a circular room. It was very nice. The carpet was a rich shade of red and the walls were white with wooden lining. There were three tall windows letting in the sunlight. There was also a couch and a few chairs. Master Zenthus said it's for relaxing, everyone just called it a living room, which that's basically what it was. They then entered the kitchen which was past the living room and separated by a divider, so you could see the whole kitchen from the living room. The kitchen was spacious. It had a counter top going all the way along the back wall with another island counter next to it so you could have counters on either side of you. On the island counter there was an espresso machine. On the counter touching the wall, there was a microwave. There was a stove on one side and a fridge on the other. Over the sink was a window. Above the counters were cabinets, mostly filled with food and plates. And above the counter were three lamps. There were also four stools so you could sit at the island top. Terra and Aqua were impressed with how nice it was.

They then went back to the living room. Master Zenthus pointed to the right at a door that he said was a bathroom. To the right was a hallway. On both sides of the Hall were three doors. Above, on the hallway ceiling, were two sky lights. Clouds were roaming past. "These are where your rooms are. The first two on the left. This is your room Aqua." He pointed to the first door. "And yours is the second Terra. Please make yourselves comfortable. You'll be on this ship for most of your travels. You are free to roam the ship as you please. The crew members are great and I hope you make some friends. I have important business to take care of elsewhere. If you need anything just ask." Master Zenthus left Aqua and Terra alone.

Aqua entered her room and so did Terra. Terra's room was very spacious compared to his old room. The floor was wooden with a small square rug that was red with white letters that said Sierra. The walls were a dark blue with two windows across from the door. To the left was a queen sized bed, both sides away from the walls so it was in the middle with only the head touching the wall. The sheets were also dark blue with a white pillow. Above the bed was a fish tank built into the wall with faint blue back lights to illuminate the tank. Little fish flakes floated into the tank. Terra guessed it periodically shot food into the tank to keep the fish alive. Across from the bed was a Bureau with a mirror on top. Next to the bureau was a desk with some books and a lamp on it. The lamp was in the shape of a moon and floated above the desk like magic. Next to all that was an open closet. Next to Terra's bed was another lamp in the shape of a moon hanging from the ceiling. Also on the ceiling in the center was a fan. All the switches to turn everything on was next to the door. _I could get used to this._ Terra thought. Just then he felt a floating sensation, which took him a few seconds to get used to. He looked out his window to see the ground below him getting smaller and smaller. _Well maybe some things will take time to get used to._

Terra left his room and entered Aqua's. Her room was almost identical except everything was on the opposite side than Terra's room and the wooden floor that was in Terra's was a light blue carpet in hers and the walls were light green. The frame of her bed was a seashell. And the covers were light blue to match the seashell frame. It complimented the fish tank well. Her room had a tropical theme to it.

"These rooms are awesome!" Aqua exclaimed and Terra agreed.

"Should we go check the rest of the ship?" Aqua asked eager to see more.

"Sure." and they headed down the hall to the stairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they saw a big open room. It was similar to the living room, except this one was bigger and had a giant flat screen TV on the wall. Not to mention a big impressive couch. Terra made a note about how the couch was nicer than his bed back at his old house. Next to the couch, on the side wall, was a marble fireplace. It wasn't being used at the moment

_This ship's got everything _Terra thought.

They then went through a door that led to the outside deck. It was amazing. The beautiful blue sky was all around them. Some birds were even eye level with them as they flew by. Terra noticed that the engines powered by that blue magic were very quiet. They only made a small humming noise, which mixed with the sound of the wind, was actually relaxing. You couldn't even hear them inside.

Terra noticed small lamp posts around the parameter of the deck, which were probably used during the night Above them was the massive sail. Terra realized there were actually two sails. One in the front, where they were, and one in the back. Along the sail's mast was a ladder that led to the a post at the top for a lookout to keep watch. To the left of the door they came out of was a small room separated from the rest of the ship interior. It sat under an archway that connected the front and back decks together. It was all nice looking. Terra decided to go inside.

When Terra opened the door he quickly learned it was the cockpit of the ship. And not only that, but there were 3 people standing there. "Bout time we get to meet ya." a man with blond spiky hair said. " Name's Cid, Pilot of the Sierra." Cid said looking back without letting his hands of the wheel.

A girl with black hair walked up to Aqua. "Geez you have a license for those things?" she said pointing at Aqua's chest. Aqua immediately went red. " My name is Xion.

The third, a man with light medium brown hair ran over and grabbed Aqua's hand. " And who might this lovely little goddess be?"

"I'm Aqua." she said while taking her hand back.

Xion smacked him over the head. "This is James"

"This is Terra. We're here with Master Zenthus." Aqua said

"So your the keybearers he talked about." James said rubbing his head. "Xion's a keybearer too. Why don't you show them?"

Xion held her hand up and the familiar light flashed leaving a keyblade in its place. Xion's Keyblade was plain looking. It actually looked like a normal key. It was grey with three teeth at the end.

Terra and Aqua summoned theirs too. Aqua's was a pretty blue to match herself. Terra's golden.

"Man yours looks like a giant old antique." James said unimpressed.

Terra just rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

A giant crash made everyone fall over. "What was that?" Terra and Xion said at the same time.

They all ran outside, except Cid. What they saw outside made Terra's stomach turn. Heartless. Lots of Heartless.

**Author's Note: This chapter was boring, but next one will have action. Read and review please**


	6. Battle in blue skies

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 6

"So much for relaxing." James said sarcastically.

"James quit complaining and let's go!" Xion said as she ran towards the heartless, keyblade in hand.

" Yeah yeah Miss Bossy." James ran after Xion pulling out a gun. Well that's what it looked like to Terra. It looked like an old revolver, except with a modern overhaul. The barrel was big and square and when James fired it, instead of bullets, it fired these yellow balls in the shape of bullets. Lasers? The rest was fairly normal, except James never had to reload the gun. He would open the chamber, but instead of putting bullets in, he would just close it again and continue firing.

"These are heartless?" Terra looked up to see many heartless swirling around the ship. "What are these things?"

"Gargoyles." Xion quickly said. "Be careful, they dive very fast."

One decided to attack Terra. Unfortunately Terra wasn't fast enough to react. It swooped down hoping to sink it's claws into Terra's head. It never got the chance as one of James' bullets found it's head. "What are you waiting for, use your keyblade already."

"Come on Terra." Aqua walked up beside Terra with her keyblade giving him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah." Terra rushed at the oncoming heartless. Two more Gargoyles swooped down at Terra. Terra was ready this time. He raised his giant keyblade above his head and swung vertically right as the two heartless were on him, killing both. Terra noticed as they faded, two hearts floated away from them and then disappeared.

Aqua was just as fierce. A Gargoyle tried taking a swing at her, but she was too nimble, and quickly twirled out of the way before swinging her keyblade through the confused heartless. "Not bad Aqua." Xion complimented.

"Thanks. Not bad yourself." she replied

The four of them continued that pace up for a few minutes. James shooting heartless left and right, Xion waiting then striking at the right moment, Aqua in a feverish dance, twirling about slaying heartless as she went, and Terra....Terra went with his instincts and just attacked relentlessly.

Terra had stopped fighting as something caught his eye off in the distance. But just as Terra spotted it, it disappeared into the clouds. "What was that heartless?" Terra said to himself. Terra saw it again, this time a lot closer. It was coming for the ship. " A...dragon? Everyone look!" Unfortunately everyone was busy with the remaining heartless so no one except Terra saw it swoop under the Sierra. When it was about half way under it shot upwards really hard making the ship shudder violently and everyone got knocked off their feet.

"looks like we've got a big one this time." Cid yelled over the loud speaker.

Terra stood up. "What is that?" Terra said helping Aqua to her feet.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before." Xion said after brushing herself off.

The dragon flew next to the Sierra, but it picked up speed and flew ahead of the Sierra. Everyone looked on as the dragon did a 180 and charged at the ship. As the dragon came in playing a dangerous game of chicken with the ship, Cid yanked the wheel at the last second just barely avoiding the dragon's tail. The dragon reappeared and grabbed onto the side of the ship. It pulled back it's head and flames blasted the deck. Everyone jumped back in time to avoid them. Terra felt the hot blast of heat and then the flames fizzled out.

Xion ran up to the dragon's head as she dodged a fireball. "We have to take care of this thing quick!"

"Sounds like fun." James casually said staring at the giant, gun pointed at it's face.

Xion was attacking with multiple slashes making sure to avoid any claws or fireballs. James kept a safe distance and fired off shots, same with aqua who instead fired off blasts of ice, which came easily for her. Terra decided to enter the fray. He ran towards the beast, which noticed and decided to send a fireball his way. Terra jumped into the air as the fireball went sailing under him and dissolved harmlessly into the sky. Terra came down fast, sword raised above his head, and made a quick downward slice with both hands upon the head of the dragon.

The dragon roared in pain and let go of the ship. It was angry now and backed up a few feet away. It reared it's head back again ready to shoot more flames, but it didn't get the chance as the speaker blared up. " Nows our chance!" Cid's voice echoed. All at once the three huge cannons on the side fired. All three hit their mark making a big cloud of smoke and from it, the dragon fell.

Terra thought they had killed it as it fell out of sight below, but a few seconds later he found out how wrong he was. The dragon swooped over the Sierra's deck lashing at anything. It was angry and just wanted to take it's rage out on something. Unfortunately that "something" was Aqua. Aqua's eyes widened as she realized what it was doing, but she didn't have time to avoid it's massive body. " Damn it!" Terra ran as fast as his legs could take him. He threw his sword at it, but the dragon was too angry to care as it continued. Terra dove and pushed Aqua out of the way just in time to see it's tail at his face and then....Terra could see Xehanort laughing at him, making fun of him with those yellow eyes of his. Then rage filled his heart. Terra dove out of the way before the dragon's tail could hit him again. He grabbed his keyblade and swung at his tail. The dragon tried biting Terra with it's sharp teeth, but Terra wasn't in the mood to become this dragon's lunch. Terra ducked under the head and slashed at it's stomach.

James could of sworn he saw Terra's eyes flash to yellow for a second, but he wasn't sure. The dragon tried again to devour Terra. This time Terra raised his keyblade and the dragon chomped down onto the keyblade. With all his strength, Terra batted away the dragon's face, making a loud clanking noise. Terra fired off a fireball, hitting the dragon square in the face. Then he made a vertical spin in the air and came down hard with his keyblade on the dragon's back. The dragon weakly half climbed, half fell off the side of the ship and flew off into the distance. "Terra, are you ok?" Aqua asked worried and a little afraid of Terra's sudden vicious attack. Terra just Stared back at them and as the adrenaline wore off , he passed out.

**Authors note: This chapter was more action packed and I hope i did a good job. Please read and review.**


	7. Practice

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 7

Xehanort was peering out from a big glass window high above from a tower over looking a mountain, looking at the clouds painted orange from the sunset, a smile formed on his lips. He chuckled. " Not bad Terra, not bad at all."

----

When Terra woke, he found himself lying in his bedroom on the Sierra. He groggily looked out the window. Seeing a noticeable difference in the color of the sky, he checked the clock. Almost 7:30. "I was out all day? That damn dragon."

Terra hopped out of bed and before noticing a nasty bruise on his side from where the dragon hit him, he put his shirt on and walked out into the hallway. The Sierra was lined with Small lanterns, not too bright, but bright enough to see. Terra made his way up the stairs and outside to the deck. He was alone. He stared over the balcony, looking at all the clouds flying by. The massive sail above him making rhythmic flapping sounds with the wind and the hum of the engines powered by that blue magic. Terra let the wind blow through him, enjoying the peace.

Terra stood like that for a little over half an hour when a dark portal opened up a few feet away from him. This broke Terra from his peaceful daze and put him on alert. A cold shiver ran down Terra's spine when Xehanort walked out. "Why are you here?"

"Didn't you see the portal?" Xehanort asked casually.

"No. I mean, what are you doing on the Sierra?

Xehanort gave an annoyed look. " To see you of course." With amazing strength and speed, Xehanort grabbed Terra with one hand and lifted him over the Sierra's deck. Terra wondered why no one on the ship saw him. Maybe the ship was too big and everyone was somewhere else. Terra wasn't happy with that.

Terra was scared, and Xehanort could see it. He smirked. " You have the faint smell of darkness on you boy."

Terra's eyes widened a little. Is that what Terra felt when he fought the dragon. He could still remember that feeling. There was rage, but something else was there too, like some kind of power. He felt it course through him like a jolt of electricity making him more alert, more focused, faster and stronger. He didn't like the feeling, but it did help him. Was that darkness?

" I know you felt it inside your heart. It's there Terra, calling you. If you want true power Terra, submit!" Xehanort said with passion.

" Is that why your so powerful? Using false strength to help you?" Terra taunted trying to sound less nervous then he actually was.

Xehanort chuckled again and threw Terra back onto the deck. "You need that power. Soon you'll see. Eventually you will use that power for your own selfish desires. Xehanort opened another portal of darkness and after giving another smirk at Terra, disappeared through it.

Terra stared back at the empty space, still trying to understand the quick random conversation(if you could call talking to a crazed bald man holding you over a ship hundreds of feet above the ground a conversation, then sure).

----

Aqua was sitting in the living room replaying the events over the past couple of days in her head, but that only made her homesick. She decided to go check up on Terra. When she opened the door to his room and stepped in, she noticed the empty bed. She left and made her way around the ship. After twenty minutes of searching she knew he wasn't inside at least. "Where is that man?"

There was only one other place she hadn't checked and if Terra wasn't there then he was a pancake below somewhere. A minute later she found him where she figured he'd be. "Are you feeling better?" she said as she walked out into the night air.

"Yeah, I feel better now thanks." he said facing away from her.

Aqua joined him at the balcony. "I looked all over for you. I thought you became a pancake." Aqua chuckled. More out of embarrassment from the lame joke then anything.

Terra just frowned. "Are you really okay?" worry in her voice. " Does your injury still hurt?"

"Yeah..."

Aqua and Terra peered out into the vast night sky. The moon finally came out from hiding, casting a beautiful glow over the ship. The silence was soothing. Terra glanced at Aqua. Her skin seemed to shine with the moonlight. Even her hair was more beautiful. "I was really scared back there." she said not looking at Terra. "But you saved me." she faced him. "Thank you."

Terra turned red and tried to shrug it off. "It was nothing."

This made Aqua giggle.

"Awww what a cute couple they make." Terra and aqua turned to see James standing in the archway. "Supper's ready."

Aqua, Terra, and James made it down the stairs to the dining room. Xion was already there. "Hey about time you woke up. That's what you get for not thinking things through."

"Thinking isn't one of Terra's strong points." Aqua said and they all laughed except Terra who just sighed, but enjoyed the moment all the same.

A man with black hair and green eyes walked into the dining room and sat down at the end of the table with his arms crossed. He wore a sleeveless black shirt with a strap going from his right shoulder down to his left hip along with baggy red pants. He looked across the table at Terra. "So this is the guy who scared off the dragon huh?" he took the quiet looks as a yes. " Hmph, he doesn't seem that impressive to me."

"What's his problem?" Aqua whispered at Xion.

"That's Shinji. He goes to Stillius too.

"Why wasn't he in the battle then?" Terra asked.

"Because i didn't feel like it. I thought you could handle it, but it looked like you needed my help after all."

In the first minute he met him, Terra already didn't like him. Terra hated guys like this. James decided to be peacemaker. "Settle down kids no need to fight at the table."

"Kids? How old are you anyway?" Terra asked.

"Thirty-eight. That's old enough to be your father, so just calm down you too."

Terra and Shinji just glared at each other from across the table. Aqua and Xion just sighed. And after a nice dinner of steak and potatoes, they headed for their rooms, which Terra now knew a certain room at the end of the hall to avoid from now on. As Terra layed in his bed, the last thing Terra thought about before drifting off to sleep was Xehanort's stupid grin.

----

Terra woke up bright and early. He ate a quick breakfast of toast and got outside onto the deck. It was another beautiful day. That was until he spotted Aqua...talking with Shinji. Much to Terra's dismay, Shinji spotted Terra too. "Terra. Good morning." Aqua beamed seeming happy that Terra was there.

"Yo Tarra." Shinji said.

"It's Terra." Terra corrected him.

"Sorry." Shinji lied. "Hey I have an idea."

Terra wasn't too excited at this "idea" of his.

"How about we have a friendly sparring match. Unless your still weak from your fight with that heartless."

"I'll take you on."

"Great!" Shinji lifted his hand above him. A light flashed and a second later a keyblade was in his hands. The keyblade looked pretty ordinary, except at the end it looked like a gear for the teeth. Shinji gave a smirk. "Did I forget to mention? I'm a Keyblader too.

Aqua looked surprised. Terra looked annoyed. Terra and Shinji walked to the back of the ship and Aqua followed, but stayed off to the side so to not be in the way. Terra summoned his giant Keyblade, which he named Old One last night after Aqua had the idea to name their blades when she read Keybladers often named their keyblades. She named hers Winter Tundra. after the fact her keyblade was blue and her first spell she learned was an ice spell.

Shinj examined it. "Compensating for something?" he chuckled, which pissed Terra off more.

"Are we gonna start?" Terra asked.

Shinji replied with that by lunging forward and stabbed at Terra. Terra blocked it and countered with a stab too. Shinji ducked under and spun around Terra effortlessly. Shinji came around with his keyblade and Terra blocked that as well, but that's what Shinji wanted and he kicked Terra's legs out. Terra fell to the ground. Shinji chuckled again. Terra got up and brushed himself off. He was getting angry. "Round two." Shinji said.

Terra ran at shinji and jumped into the air and came down on Shinji. Sparks flew as their keyblades made contact. "What a joke." Shinji said so quiet that only Terra could hear. Shinji then pushed Terra's keyblade to the side and Terra received a punch to the gut. Terra winced a little. Terra could feel it again. _You need that power! _Xehanort'swords rang in his head. Darkness began to lick the sides of his sub-conscience. He swung Old One over his shoulder, but Shinji jumped out of the way. He then charged at Terra, making multiple swings, all in different directions. He was more skilled then Terra, that much Terra knew. The last attack made Terra lose balance and Shinji used that moment to knock Old One out of Terra's hands. He then gave Terra a hard knock with the grip of his keyblade. Terra fell backwards. "This is the power of me and my keyblade Descending Darkness." he said as he dismissed his keyblade. "No wonder the heartless beat you."

Terra was about to get up and attack him when Aqua called his name. "Terra are you okay?" she rushed over to Terra and gave a mean look at Shinji. "What's wrong with you? Terra's still injured." Shinji just scoffed at this and walked away.

Terra was still angry, but Aqua's concerned face made his anger melt away. "I'm fine." he said dismissing his keyblade. "Thanks."

Xion and James came out onto the deck then. "Hey guys, we're gonna be arriving at Athus shortly." James said.

"Athus?" Terra and Aqua almost said in unison.

:It's the city where Stillius is." Xion informed. "We'll be there in about two hours. With that Xion and James left them alone.

"Don't worry. He was just more experienced. You'll get stronger at Stillius right?" she tried to reassure the sullen looking Terra.

"Yeah I guess so." was all Terra said.

For the remainder of the ride Aqua decided to relax in a chair watching the clouds go by as Terra decided to practice more with Old One. After a little over two hours, Cid's voice came over the loud speaker. "We've arrived! Everyone get ready to depart."

Terra and Aqua looked over the side of the ship, and once they passed through some clouds, they were both in shock at what they saw. "It's..."

"Floating in the Air!" Terra finished the sentence.

"Welcome to the Grand City of Athus!" Xion said after appearing through the archway.

**Author's note:** **Next chapter is up. I kinda rushed it I think, but I wanted to get them to the city sooner. Next chapter will be up soon, and thanks for the reviews from my new reviewers XD The story should start picking up once I get the other characters into it and the adventures and such start happening. Hope you enjoy.**


	8. New School, Old Friends

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Chapter 8

After another five minutes of flying, they finally reached the port, or sky port as Terra put it. There were many different kinds of airships. Some passenger while others were used to import and export items like food and clothes into and out of the city. Terra, Aqua, Xion, James, and Shinji got off the Sierra and onto the dock. Cid and the maintenance crew stayed with the Sierra. Master Zenthus greeted them at the docks.

"How did you get here before us?" Terra asked.

"I have a different means of travel. I'll explain later. I heard you had trouble the other day, but it seems you all made it out fine." Master Zenthus said happily. "Come. Stillius awaits." And with that they followed him into the city.

The sky harbor and city were separatedby a large wooden gate, so once they passed through, they could finally see the city close up. Terra and Aqua were amazed. The city was much larger than Twilight Town and the buildings were bigger too. From where they were, they could see many houses and shops lining the streets. Off in the distance they could even see, what Terra assumed was Stillius. The streets had lamp posts similar to Twilight Town. There were even trees lining parts of the sidewalks, which was interesting considering they were 1000's of feet off the ground. Athus was much more lively too. Men and women were going about their day as kids were happily playing around shops and in the streets. As they walked, Terra saw many different shops that interested him. He saw an ice cream shop that sold many different flavors including Sea Salt ice cream. He saw a small cafe and even a few restaurants on the way. As they got closer to Stillius, they passed through a park, which Xion explained was connected to the forest surrounding Stillius.

"Wow! Athus has a park and a forest up here?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah. It even has a small lake." James added.

This made Terra realize something. He ran ahead of the others to reach Master Zentus. "Why doesn't anyone question a huge city in the sky?"

"I've wondered that too." Aqua said as she walked up beside Terra.

Master Zenthus replied. " Because, it's very high up for anyone to see. Usually clouds block it out. Of course even if anyone could see it from below, we have magic to hide Athus. You can only see it from up here. Same with the streams and fountains you see. All made possible with magic. There's also a barrier surrounding the whole city so no one can accidentally fall off." he chuckled. "We wouldn't want that to happen."

They all continued walking and thirty minutes later, they reached the school gates. The front courtyard was beautiful. There was a fountain in the middle with flowers all around it. There were blues, and reds, and even some yellows. Terra wasn't an expert on flowers. They were all the same as far as he was concerned. Terra could smell the pine fromall the pine trees surrounding the courtyard. He loved that smell. Reminded him of that time he got lost in the forest surrounding Twilight Town and he found that old haunted Mansion. The school itself was more like a giant castle. There were very large towers on both sides of the Castle. In the middle stood two huge blue marble doors that went with the rest of the castle that was a lighter shade of blue marble. Windows lined the outside pouring tons of sunlight into the castle. "Here we are!" said Master Zenthus.

"It's about time." James said with a relieved look.

When they all got inside Terra realized it was much bigger than it appeared. The grand entrance hall was made out of light blue marble. Behind them above the entrance, were two giant pane windows letting in sunlight. Ahead of them was an elegant staircase, made out of beautiful polished wood. There were two more windows over looking the back courtyard. Master Zenthus went up the stairs and they all followed. They made it to a long hallway with more big windows. The walls were the same blue as the entrance hall. On the walls were darker blue flags with a golden trim at the bottom. On the flags was the word Stillius. There were also round shell shaped things on the wall. Master Zenthus explained they cast a faint glow to light the hallways at night. There were five classrooms on the opposite wall from the windows. They briefly looked inside to see desks and and a bigger desk in the front. Those were the ordinary classrooms where students studied subjects like math and science.

They rounded a corner to find another stretchof hallway. This one was very similar to the first,except it had another staircase at the end. When they got to the top of the stairs, another hallway. This one had red flags on the walls. The rooms on this floor were not classrooms as Terra soon found out. "These are your dormitories." Master Zenthus explained. "Please, feel free to choose any of the first three, as they are empty now."

Terra walked up to the closest one. The door was red and gold. Made out of oak, simple enough. Aqua chose the one next to Terra's. Her door was blue and gold. Terra walked into his room. The first thing he noticed was that it didn't look much like a room at all. There was a bed though, and it was huge, which was next to the door. Past the foot of his bed was a big TV on the left wall. Across that was a small couch. The couch was against a counter. The kitchen counter. There was a counter going all the way around like a square, except one section cut off to get in. There was also a fridge and a toaster. The usual kitchen stuff. _I can't believe I have my own kitchen. _The kitchen took up the whole right side of the room, except the right corner, which led into a small bathroom.. The bathroom was nothing special. Just a toilet, sink, and shower, and they were all a nice white though, with blue marble walls of course. The last thing Terra checked out was the closet. Just your average closet. Though bigger than his one back home. _More like an apartment, jeez. Not complaining though._

When Terra got back into the hallway, Aqua was already there, but James and Xion had left. Terra guessed they went to their rooms. "I assume your both happy with your rooms then?" Master Zenthus asked.

Terra and Aqua both nodded. "Ah good! You should have a pretty decent grasp of the castle by now. I'll leave you two on your own. Training starts tomorrow, so be ready around 10:00 and meet me in the courtyard in back. I'm the Headmaster, so if you need anything just come to my office on the third floor next to the dormitory. I hope you enjoy it here." and with that he left them alone. It was already past lunch time so they decided to head down to the lunchroom.

The lunchroom was on the first floor and by the time they got there, they saw a few other students getting lunch as well. Terra also noticed Shinji. He was talking to some blond girl. Terra ignored him. Terra and Aqua grabbed trays and walked over to the line. A boy in line looked over to them. "Hey! Your the new students right?"

"Yeah." was all Terra said.

"Name's Tidus. Nice to meet you..."

"My name's Aqua, and this is Terra."

"How do you like it so far?"

"It seems wonderful." Aqua said.

"It's OK I guess." Terra didn't like school. And no matter what it taught, it was still school.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Anyway my friend Yuna is calling me." he said pointing to a girl seated far away. "We should talk more later. See ya." After a wave he left the line.

"That guy seemed energetic." Aqua said

"Probably because it's lunch time." Terra said

"Only you get that excited over lunch Terra." Aqua laughed.

Terra grabbed a delicious looking slice of pizza and a Dew while Aqua just grabbed a nice salad and a vanilla shake with strawberries. They found a table near the back next to the courtyard exit. "Brings back memories of lunchtime back home huh?"

Terra agreed. "Except the pizza's better here." he said after washing down a bite with his soda.

Just then Shinji and the blond girl walked up to the table. "Hey Aqua." he said and Aqua just rolled her eyes, which seemed to annoy the blond. Then Shinji turned to Terra. "Hey Terra, hope I didn't beat you up too bad." he said with an obvious sarcastic tone.

"Nah, girls don't hit that hard anyway." Terra said too quiet for Shinji to hear.

"What was that mumbles?" Shinji asked.

"I said, I've taken bigger beatings from Moogles than you. Try giving me a bruise next time." Terra waved his hand dismissively.

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "Try giving me a challenge next time." he said threateningly. and with that, he and the blond laughed and walked off.

After lunch, Terra decided to explore the rest of the school, but once you've seen one classroom, you've seen them all and after an hour of looking, Terra decided to go back to the dorm. He headed up stairs from the second floor to the familiar red oak door to his room. Once inside, he plopped himself on the couch and turned on the TV. The reception and picture were great...if only there was something worth watching. Terra moved to the kitchen and grabbed a soda. Thank god this place had soda.

There was a knock at the door. Terra lazily got up from his stool and answered the door. When Terra opened the door, standing there was Aqua...and Ven! Laziness gone. "Ve-" Before Terra even got the word out, he was tackled full force by the blond spiky haired best friend. They wrestled playfully on Terra's floor as Aqua watched, shaking her head.

"Not a thing has changed has it? Just more proof you guys haven't grown up." she said and smiled. They finally broke apart. Ven grabbed Terra's soda off of the counter and washed it down. "Dew? You know I prefer Coke."

"Ven. When did you get here? Why did you get here? Terra said through huffs.

"Just an hour ago and I'll explain. Master Zenfan or Zenfo...?"

"Master Zenthus." Aqua corrected him, as she usually did when they were growing up.

"Right, that one. Anyway, I got a letter about a few days ago. It was so strange. It explained why I got this dream and that I was suppose to come here."

"Wait." Terra cut him off. "You mean you had the same dream we had?"

"And that also means Master Zenthus knew who we were before hand." Aqua chimed in.

"So...you guys got that swor-Keyblade too?" Ven asked hopefully.

As for confirmation, Terra and Aqua both summoned their Keyblades.

Ven stared at his hand and then summoned his Keyblade, nearly slicing his head off. Terra laughed. Ven looked ready to wet himself. Aqua just sighed.

Over the next hour Terra brought Ven up to speed with everything that happened over the last few days. Everything from that night in the alleyway to getting here. Even the part about Terra losing to Shinji on the airship. The whole time Ven just listened. Finally, with a breath, Terra finished. Ven sat there scratching his head. In Ven land that meant he was soaking it all in. "So." Ven finally said. "What are you calling your Keyblades?"

Terra stared at his on the floor. "I call my Keyblade Old One."

Aqua raised her beautiful blue Keyblade. "Winter Tundra." she said with a hint of admiration.

"Wow, awesome name Aqua." Ven awed. "Old One?" he looked back at Terra's.

"Oh yeah? What's yours then Ven?"

"Get ready!" Ven raised his Keyblade and shouted. " GREATEST MANKIND'S FURY IGNITED PASSION KEYBLADE!"

Terra lost it. He hit the floor so hard laughing. After a minute, and for fear there would be a Dew explosion of puke, Terra got up holding his side. "Oh man! Your so cool! Say it one more time."

"GREA-"

"No Ven." Aqua cut him off. "Maybe you should pick a different name. How about Fated one, or Chosen Divine."

Terra studied the blade. It looked like a mess of metal really. Reminded him of a jigsaw puzzle or multiple Keyblades put together by a 9 year old. The bottom part looked like a random metal bar with a handle from who knows what. The top looked like half a giant gear to some machine. "How about...Scrap Metal?"

Ven pondered the name for a second. "Alright, but I still say my first name was better."

The rest of the day was great. The trio spent the rest of the time in Terra's room. They talked about everything, mostly the past. Ven hadn't changed a bit since Terra last saw him. In fact, other than age and slight appearance, none of them had changed at all. Terra had gotten three more sodas. They sat on the couch. Terra and Ven were deep into a video game while Aqua watched Ven lose to the better gamer Terra just like always. Eventually they went back to chatting. Terra was happy. Truly happy. From the moment he met Xehanort, and Master Zenthus, and Stilius he felt so out of place. Finally things could just be like the good old times. Terra's heart sored with nostalgia. Ven was making a hilarious face on Aqua's request. She always loved when he made that face as kids. Terra smiled at his two best friends in the world. He had decided from this night on, that he would be with Aqua and Ven. Forever.

Terra smiled and got up to throw the cans of empty soda away. He walked over to the sink. Out of the window he could see it. How he missed it before, he didn't know. But now, clearer than ever, were the school grounds...up in flames. Hundreds of Heartless littered the place. Students' screams were heard far off in the distance. Standing in the middle of the chaos, with his piercing yellow eyes, was Xehanort.

**Author's Note: 8th chapter up...after a long time. Meh... busy and partial writers block. hope you enjoy and review!**


	9. Fire, Fights, and Loss

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

The Doors to the courtyard burst open. Smoke-filled air instantly groped Terra's lungs. With a quick cough, Terra stared forward to see two students running from Heartless. The Heartless were wearing armor. Soldiers. Ven and Aqua ran up beside Terra, both summoning their Keyblades. Terra noticed Ven was holding his backwards.

As if Ven could read Terra's thoughts he said. "Been practicing a new fighting style while I was away."

Eager to show it, Ven rushed in, which was an understatement since Ven bolted in. Terra was surprised at his speed. It was almost too fast to see. _Is that the Keyblade's power too? _Ven quickly turned the Heartless into nothing, giving a little victory pose afterwards.

Aqua reached up and put her hand on Terra's shoulder, breaking Terra out of his trance. He looked over and Aqua gave him a reassuring but somber smile. "Come on, we should look for Master Zenthus."

They ran through the courtyard to the back of the school. They had to fight more Heartless the way there. All different shapes and sizes. Some big. Others small. But with Aqua and Ven, the three made a good team. Aqua seemed to be getting better with her magic. Her Blizzards were larger and more devastating now. Terra knew she was smart, but he never would of guessed how easily she could use magic. And her few years of Gymnastics at Twilight Town really payed off. She could effortlessly dodge the Heartless' attacks with acrobatic flips and quick dodges. What Terra used to consider "Silly", was very useful in battle. Or maybe Aqua made it useful in battle.

Along the way, they met up with James. After shooting 3 Heartless with amzing pinpoint acuracy, James turned to the trio. He stared at Ven for a second. "Haven't seen you around."

"I'm Ventus, but call me Ven."

James merely looked at Terra.

"Friend. No time to explain now. Have you seen Zenthus around anywhere?" he said quickly.

James shrugged. Another Heartless appeared, but James' bullet quickly found it's dark head. "Haven't seen him." He thought for a moment. "Have you seen Xion?"

Terra, Aqua, and Ven shook their heads, of course Ven was only going by her discription from Terra.

James rubbed the back of his head, gave a quick nod, then ran off into a direction past the trees.

Terra turned. "Let's go."

The trio ran through the courtyard and went through the doors to the other side of the school. High above on one of the towers, a woman in a long grey overcoat peered down at Terra. Two Gargoyle Heartless swooped down for a quick meal. The woman slowly and calmly raised her hand. A short white bow with a silver rose carved into it materialized into her hand. She held it side ways and pointed it to the Heartless' direction above. They came in swaying side to side, spinning. There was no string, but four small beams of white rapidly fire into the night air, slaying the Heartless in seconds. The bow disappeared and the raven-haired woman crouched down to continue watching the land below.

They checked everywhere. Master Zenthus was certainly not in any of the rooms on the first and second floors. There was only one more place to look. Terra, Aqua, and Ven hurried past their dorms to the other strech of hallway leading to Master Zenthus' office. Terra slamed the door open letting it hit the wall to try and scare whatever dark creatures might be waiting. Terra peered inside cautiously. The place looked like a bomb went off. Books were lying on the floor near a broken bookcase. Their pages scattered. Master Zenthus' desk was smashed into pieces. Pictures of what Terra assumed were past teachers, were cracked and lying on the floor instead of hanging on the wall.

"What happened here? Looks like a heck of a party." Ven said sarcastically.

"I think I have an idea." Terra's thoughts went to a Yellow-eyed old man.

"Where could Master Zenthus have gone?" Aqua said brushing her hand across the splintered wood of the once sturdy desk. Terra looked up and saw that one of the big glass windows was smashed. The sounds of the night mixed with fires burning and screams of terror coming from the city of Athus mingled in Terra's ears.

"Let's go!"

It took about a minute to reach the entrance hall marble doors. The scent of pine rushed into Terra's nostrils as they sprinted outside into the crisp night air. They ran past the fountain with the flowers. They ran past the giant iron gates leading into Stillius. Terra turned back, saddened by the once beautiful school already half devoured by the hungry flames. Ven walked back to Terra. "I was only in there for a few hours. So much for school huh?" Terra nodded.

As they ran through the moon-lit park, they ran into a couple fighting off Heartless. They decide to help them, but stopped short when the one carrying a blue sword jumped into the air and called out: "**Energy Rain**". Balls of energy shot out of the sword all converging onto the Heartless, then a second later exploding the Heartless out of existence.

"Great job!" the woman said enthusiastically.

The man turned then. "Who's there? I'll take you Heartless on."

Terra, Aqua, and Ven walked out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

"It's you guys...and?"

"I'm Ven." he said staring at the swordsman.

"Right on! I'm Tidus. And this here's Yuna." as Yuna stepped forward carrying a staff and wearing a beautiful white and purple kimono. The Brown haired summoner stared at the three with a warm smile and gave a quick bow. Terra noticed she had two different colored eyes. A blue and green one.

"Hey. Have you seen Zenthus around anywhere?" Terra asked.

"No, not since this morning." Tidus said.

"Why? Has something happened to him?" Yuna asked worried.

"No clue." Ven said casually.

"We were just heading back to the city."

"We're going to the city now. We can go together." Aqua suggested.

"The more the merrier." Tidus stretched his arms and legs. "Let's get to it!"

In 20 minutes they reached the city without much trouble. They all stood behind some bushes near the edge of the park. Terra hesitated. Whatever he was going to see, it wasn't going to be pretty.

That was an understatement. They had walked out from the bushes and into a once great city that was now drastically transformed from fire and Heartless. Rooftops burned. Trees were giant torches. Houses that Terra saw just hours ago, were nothing more that kindling now. Terra could feel his presence. He was here in the city. Waiting. But the question was where?

Terra thought for a moment. Finally he spoke. "Guys." they all looked over from their shock induced daze. "I have to find something. Stay here." Aqua was about to protest, but was to slow, and Terra ran off into the smoke filled night.

Terra's heart was racing. Not from the running. From the meeting he really didn't want to have. He sped past more burning houses. He made it to a street lit with lamps...and fire. Terra guessed this was the lower part of Athus, due to all the shops around. _So much for taking Aqua to the ice cream shop. _Terra stopped to get a better look, but it was hard with all smoke. Terra stood listening to the fires, when he heard a faint scream. A woman tripped into the street. Her clothes were torn by apparent sharp claws. The woman tried crawling, but only got a few feet before collapsing on the stone street. Her body faded away, and something the shape of a heart floated into the air. Terra's eyes widened as the heart transformed into a Heartless. _That's where they come from? People's...hearts!?_It's beady little yellow eyes looked around as it sniffed the air for something. It turned towards Terra.

It found what it was looking for. It lunged, claws out, ready to tear into Terra. Terra raised Old One and the Heartless bounced harmlessly off it. It was stunned momentarily and lunged at Terra again. This time Terra swung his Keyblade upwards, punting the Heartless like a football. The Heartless hit the cold hard ground, where it died. Assuming Heartless can die, Terra thought. Terra continued through the city. As he went, he started to have second thoughts. _Why the hell did I leave on my own? _His thinking led to over thinking. Over thinking wasn't good.

He rounded the corner of another street when he heard the sounds of clashing swords. Terra ran through a line of trees that weren't burning and back yard into a small clearing. Master Zenthus and Xehanort were facing each other. Xehanort was calmly standing with his keyblade resting in his hand. Master Zenthus was breathing heavily, looking years older. In his hand, was a white Keyblade of his own. "Why do you continue this foolish endeavor?" Xehanort asked.

Master Zenthus looked up with tire eyes. He smiled and said. "Because, your plans will never come into reality."

"Nonsense."

"As long as I'm still here, I wont let you have your way." Master Zenthus said.

"You're already half dead." Xehanort said with snobby tone." Master Zenthus didn't respond. He only raised his Keyblade. "You can't stop me now." he said matter-of-factly. "My plans have already been set into motion." Xehanort raised his Keyblade now.

"Xehanort!" Terra yelled with rage. Big mistake. Master Zenthus turned slightly to where Terra was. Electricity shot from Xehanort's fingers, and into the surprised Master of Stillius. With amazing speed, Xehanort teleported onto the other side of Master Zenthus and came down with his dark Keyblade. Blood gushed from the fatal wound. Master Zenthus crumpled to the ground. It was all so fast, Terra barely reacted at first.

"No!" Terra ran intent on cutting Xehanort to pieces. Terra's blade came down on Xehanort, only to be blocked by another Keyblade. Terra's eyes widened. "You?"

"Yo Terra." Shinji said with a sly smile. Terra enraged, starting battering Shinji, but with every brutal blow, Shinj was either able to dodge or block it. Xehanort was already back in his position before the fight, with a smug expression. Like a kid who knows what he's getting for Christmas, Xehanort knew his plans were all set. He watched on as Terra continued his onslaught.

Shinji blocked a few more hits, but when Terra went for his fourth strike, Shinji stepped into the attack and blocked it. This threw Terra off balance and Shinji gave a hard kick to Terra's chest. Terra doubled over backwards, but got right back to his feet. Xehanort's face turned from an expression of amusement, to one of intrigue. "What's wrong Terra?" Shinji taunted. "Angry your teacher you only knew for a few days was killed becuase of you? Or because you still cant beat anything, but a few measly Heartless?"

"Shut up!" Terra barked. "You killed hundreds of people. For what!? Some plan this bald freak thought out?" If Xehanort was annoyed, he didn't show it. Terra charged at Shinji again.

Aqua, Ven, Tidus, and Yuna ran through the streets checking the houses and shops that were still standing for any survivors. So far, there were none. Tidus and Ven continued looking while Aqua and Yuna waited outside. "Thinking about your friend?"

Aqua looked up at Yuna. "Huh?"

"You looked like you were sleeping." Yuna lightly joked.

Aqua had been so lost in deep thought, she didn't realize she was staring awkwardly at the fire for Five minutes. "Just worried about Terra. That's all." she said a little embarrassed.

"I'm sure he's ok. He seems to know what he's doing."

Aqua looked at her. "My friend? Terra? No. Terra's not the thinker. That's my job. Terra does stupid things without thinking. I fix his messes."

"What's Ven's Job then." Yuna teased.

"Ven watches Terra and thinks it's so cool, he has to do the same thing. I have to save two idiots." Aqua and Yuna laughed. It wasn't that the situation they were in was funny. It just helped relieve some of the tension.

Tidus and Ven emerged from one of the houses. "I don't think anyone's here," Tidus said soberly.

Ven looked to Aqua, who looked worried. "Come on, we should look for Master Zenthus and Terra." he said more to Aqua than everyone.

Aqua looked back at Ven. "Right!"

Terra moved just fast enough to avoid a fatal stab by Shinji. Terra made a swipe for Shinji's head and Shinji dodged it, and hit Terra with his right shoulder. Terra grunted in pain, but never stopped. He stayed with Shinji making more clumsy attacks. Terra didn't care about strategy or being defensive. He just wanted to bash Shinji's or better yet, Xehanort's brains in. "Amazing. He learns so quickly. He's gotten this strong in such a short time?" Xehanort said to himself. He said loud enough so Terra could hear. "You really are the one I need. Interesting."

"After I'm done with your pet, I'm coming for you!" Terra said.

"Your overconfidence is getting old Terra." he said back. While Terra was distracted, Shinji charged a fireball and shot it at Terra. Terra barely had time to block as the blazing ball of fire exploded. Even behind Old One, Terra could feel the heat. It even sent Terra skidding back a few inches. "Shinji. That's enough." Xehanort ordered. Terra. not sure if it was a trick, kept Old One up to shield him. Shinji looked up in protest, but Xehanort's chilling eyes forced him to obey and he teleported back to his master's side. "Here come your pathetic little friends." Terra followed Xehanort's gaze. Tidus, followed by Ven and Yuna, and finally Aqua, burst through the trees.

Aqua saw Terra and quickly ran to his side. "Are you OK? she asked.

"I am." Terra said finally calming down. "But Master Zenthus..." he couldn't get the words out. Aqua looked over and saw Master Zenthus on the ground. The blood was now all around him. Yuna and Tidus must of seen him the same time as Aqua, for Yuna cried out to her once beloved master. Tidus clenched his teeth and put a comforting hand on Yuna. Terra and Aqua might not of know him for long, and Ven even less, but all the other students must of had strong bonds to the Headmaster of Stillius. Ven looked up to Shinji and Xehanort. Xehanort looked back down at Ven.

"Ahh. Another Keyblade joins the picture." he said staring at Scrap Metal. "It doesn't matter. It changes nothing."

Terra looked up to Xehanort and Shinji. Xehanort was staring back. Xehanort smiled. A dark portal opened up behind him and Shinji, and they walked through. Terra stared at the spot a few more seconds. Yuna was still crying and shaking in Tidus' arms. Ven walked to Terra and Aqua. He stared down at Terra and examined his bruises and cuts. "What happened?"

Terra lowered his head. "Nothing." he paused, "...I lost."

"Hey!" they all looked over to see Xion and James running towards them and two men wearing robes. Terra guessed they were men from Stillius.

"Finally found you guys." James said. He looked down at Master Zenthus, his face became more serious. "Damn. He should of waited."

Terra looked over to James. "What do you mean?"

James said. "We were supposed to find Xehanort together. I told him not to go alone. He knew what would happen."

Aqua asked. "Master Zenthus knew he would die?" she asked astonished.

"Of course. This is Xehanort we're talking about." They all looked over to where the feminine voice had come from. A woman stood there, wearing a red tank top with a matching skirt and white knee-high boots, and an open grey overcoat that went a little past her skirt. Her long raven colored hair contrasted her piercing green eyes.

"Rose." James said. "How long were you here?

The woman Rose looked over. "Only a couple hours. I saw the fires even before I entered the city." she walked over to Terra, Aqua, and Ven. She bent down, her face close to Terra. Terra was wondering why she was so close, when finally, after Terra's...and Aqua's discomfort, she raised her hand. A green glow emanated from her hand and Terra could feel his body getting better. His cuts closed up and his bruises didn't hurt anymore. She stood back up and backed off. Terra got to his feet. He moved his arms and legs to find he was almost fully healed.

"I think you should bring that girl home." Rose said looking at Tidus. "Most of the Heartless are gone now."

Tidus looked down to his friend. "Right." after giving a quick wave to everyone, he held her hand and walked her off probably to one of their houses.

Xion finally spoke. " We have to leave."

"Leave? What about Master Zenthus?" Aqua asked.

"Don't worry about him." Rose said, and the two men from Stillius walked over to him. "They'll take care of him." she said with more compassion this time.

Ven looked to Master Zenthus, then to Rose, then Terra and Aqua, then back to Master Zenthus. Ven wasn't sure what was going on, but he assumed it would be taken care of. "Uhhh..." he started slowly. "How are we getting out of here?"

They looked to Rose again. "Don't worry about that either. I have a ride waiting at the port."

All six of them were making their way through the city. Aqua saddened by how this once beautiful city, was now destroyed, all because of Xehanort.

"What will happen to the city now?" Terra asked.

"They rebuild." James said. "Most of the fires are out, and it doesn't look like it did too much damage. They're strong. They built Athus. They can build it again. With time."

They reached the sky port ten minutes later. The large doors parted, giving a large view of the night sky. The Sierra was docked and ready to take off.

"So this is what you meant." James said to Rose.

"This is it." Rose said. "After we leave, we wont be back for a long time." she let that hang in the air. Everyone looked back through the giant doors leading into the gigantic sky city. Terra looked back to the fires and Heartless, and to the woman who died right in front of him, and to Master Zenthus, who sacrificed his lfe so that Xehanort's plan couldn't come into existence, but he failed. Xehanort was one step closer to achieving it. It gave him that much more incentive to take down Xehanort. "Everybody ready?" she asked.

Terra looked around to see everyone slowly nod. He looked to Aqua. Aqua gave him an unsure frown. "Don't worry." Terra said reassuringly. "Ven and I will be with you." that seemed to make her feel better. "We can do this." and with that, they all boarded the Sierra.

**Author's Note: Took forever thanks to work, but 9th chapter is up, hope you enjoyed it. I added my newest character Rose. She'll be part of the main group as well.**


	10. Training and a Party

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

**PS: I had to re upload this because I saw some of the words were squished together even though I know I fixed them. It's my crappy spacebar I think...or crappy me lol**

Terra stared at the ceiling of his room on the Sierra. Watching the star-shaped shadows from the rotating moon lamp in the corner dancing overhead. It had already been a day since the Heartless attacked, since the city of Athus was up in flames, since Terra's and Xehanort's confrontation, and since Master Zenthus died. Terra held the note in his hands. Rubbing the light parchment with his fingers.

_Terra, please try to understand. I know you're being hit with everything so fast. But, please understand, if Xehanort is to be stopped, your power is needed. You may not know it yet, but you hold power. Amazing power. More than I've seen from any Keybearer before me. I'm getting old Terra. I fear I'm no match for Xehanortnow. Not with the power he's gained, along with Aqua and Ventus, you are the only ones left to stop him. I'm sorry I couldn't train you, but things are moving faster than I had anticipated. That's why I've called Rose to Stillius. She may not look it, but she'll be able to train you in the ways of the Keyblade. Terra, you must stop him. I know what he envisions for the future. You can't let him succeed. I've seen what the future holds for you. There will be trials, things you could only imagine in stories, but you must persevere. Terra. Stop him. I beg you. The world begs you. Stop Xehanort._

Terra read it at least ten times since he recieved it from James after boarding the Sierra. And even then, he read it more. Trying to find any hidden meanings or clues to what it could all mean. Unfortuanatlly, he found none. _Stop Xehanort. _"Right. I'll just get on my hoarse and slay the dragon. Then I'll rescue the princess and be a hero. Hurray Terra!" he said sarcastically to himself. Terra thought it strange. He remembered Master Zenthus said they would train the next day. So when did he write the letter? Was he lying when he said that? And how did he know so much about Terra? Could he really see things from the future? There were too many questions unanswered. It made Terra restless. It was late into the night, but Terra continued to stare at the ceiling and clutched the paper. His mind was spinning with questions. He decided some fresh air would help. He placed the note onto the stand next to his bed and went out into the hallway.

The ship was quiet, other than the soft hum of the engine. Aqua and Ven(who took Shinji's old room down the hall) were probably fast asleep in their cozy beds. Terra made his way quietly down the hall and into the kitchen. The moon pierced through the clouds, showering the room with moonlight. The only other light came from the strange orbs that hung on some of the walls, casting a blue and green glow. Terra made his way up the stairs into the bigger living room. He quietly crept across the wooden floor, his feet making dull thuds with each step. He grabbed the doors leading outside.

The night air was refreshing. Terra was getting accustomed to flying. It was a wonderful and relaxing feeling. Up here, his mind could wonder, unlike his name, here he was free. He could go where the winds took him. Terra gazed at the stars. He watched as they glittered and sparkled. A bird flew near the Sierra. It's eye resting on Terra as it went about gliding in and out near the sails, mimicing the push and pull before dipping into a cloud out of sight.

Terra gave a heavy sigh, letting out all the emotional baggage. Terra felt like he rushed into this a little too fast. More like Xehanort pushed him. He felt even worse knowing Aqua left with him. Aqua's mother was probably worried about her, but Aqua didn't have a choice if she was to follow Terra and some old dude with strange robes preeching "crazy". They almost died more than once already. But, there was no way he could let Xehanort have his way. Even if he didn't go with Master Zenthus, how much longer would they of been able to ignore it? Terra doubted Xehanort was the patient type. But still, he was happy to see Ven again. At least something good came out of this. Terra's thoughts went to Hayner, Pence, and Oletteback at Twilight Town. Were they angry? Or did the Keyblades fix that too? Terra and Aqua left without a word to any of them. Did Zenthus even care? He wanted them to go to his school and give up everything. That wasn't entirely fair though. Terra's anger bubbled inside of him every time he thought about Xehanort. But, part of Terra wanted this. He wanted to leave. The Keyblade gave him that chance. Did Aqua want this too? Terra felt a pang of guilt shoot through his heart. He sighed again.

"What are you still doing up?" Rose's voice said with the authority of a mother catching her kid up past bedtime on a school night.

Terra looked up to see Rose jump down from the sail's bird nest and land with barely a noise upon the ship's deck. "Couldn't sleep." Terra said honestly.

She looked at him for a second. "So your the kid my Grandfather wouldn't stop talking about." she said as an afterthought.

"I don't get it. What does any of this mean? You, your Gran-Zenthus, even Xehanort. You guys look at me like I'm some amazing Hero."

"They do." she corrected. "I don't see what my Grandfather sees in you."

Rose walked over to the balcony and rested her arms on the railing, her raven colored hair blowing wildly repeatedly hitting her face. After a while she spoke. "You know, when my Grandfather got his Keyblade, it was all he thought about. He was obsessed with it. Ever since he met that freak Xehanort." she sad with sadness in her voice.

"What!" Terra said suprised. "Xehanort met Zenthus before?"

"Yes. They were friends once. I don't know the details, but they took two very different paths."

"And now Xehanort's some creepy bald guy killing people." Terra finished.

"Yeah, basically. Anyway. You should get sleep for tomorrow."

When Terra didn't move right away, she waved her hand aggressively to which Terra understood as: I need time to grieve for my Grandfather now.

Terra left her alone on the deck and headed back inside. He quickly, but quietly made his way back to his room. He turned off the lights and after a little difficulty, drifted off into slumber.

Terra woke early. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and threw on his shirt and pants. He stepped out into the hall, and was greeted by Aqua and a sleepy Ven. "Morning." he mumbled through a yawn.

"Good morning Terra." Aqua said cheerily.

"Hey guys. Sleep well?"

"No." Ven replied. "Took forever to fall asleep." he moaned.

"That's because you were up late eating. How many times did I hear you going to the kitchen? Ten times?" Aqua asked.

Ven said. "It was nine actually Aq_ua_." he put emphasis on the end of her name.

"Oh my mistake." she said sarcastically.

"I remember when you used to come over for dinner, and then an hour later you'd complain you were hungry again." Terra said.

"Hey. I love food. Speaking of which. I could go for some eggs and bacon." Ven said rubbing his empty stomach.

They walked to the kitchen and found James and Xion already eating. Cid looked over with a frying pan and chef's hat. "Hey you three! Sit down an' have sum eggs." he said in his weird accent. Terra never heard anyone speak like that before. Cid was probably the only guy who had it. _Weirdo_.

James was just reading the paper, so he gave his seat to Ven so the three could sit together. Xion was sitting next to Terra. Their size easily distinguishable. Terra being as tall as Cid, while Xion was the same size as Ven. She was sporting her usual black tank top that cut just before her belly button. And her dark blue jeans with dark brown sneakers. James was wearing a plain black T-shirt with a grey jacket over it and baggy grey cargo pants to match.

"Where's that Rose lady?" Ven said with his mouth full of egg as he was already shoveling in more.

"She's out on the deck waiting for you guys to finish so you can start training today." James said to Ven, who was now choking on his eggs, while Aqua was patting him on the back.

_I can finally get stronger_. Terra thought about Xehanort's smug face. And then again as he beat him. Xehanort would get angry at Terra's new power. And also Shinji would be lying flat on his ass defeated. A satisfied smile spread across Terra's face at the thought.

The sky was a deep shade of blue as a few clouds were out, a brilliant white from the sun's rays, when Terra, Aqua, and Ven went out onto the deck. Rose was already standing in front of them. She looked at all of them closely. Sizing them up and down at what she had to work with. She thought to herself quietly. _Hmmm..._she looked at Terra. His arms and chest bulged slightly with muscle. Having seen his big Keyblade, she figured he'd be the strong type. She looked to Aqua next. Her body was nice and fit. Rose had seen the way she could naturally use magic. She might become a powerful mage someday. And last was Ven. He was far from muscular. But, she saw the way he moved. He was fast. That was probably his thing if anything.

The three shifted uneasily under her gaze. Ven gave a small cough. "OK," she finally said. "We'll start with a demonstration." When The three gave puzzled looks, she said. "Show me what you know so far.

"You mean..." Terra started.

"I don't get it." Ven said confused.

Rose pinched the top of her nose. She knew this was gonna be a long day. "Just show me anything."

Terra summoned Old One. Venand Aqua did the same. They decided the best way to show her was to spar each other. Just like the old days when they used to spar with struggle bats. They went all out. Terra came at Ven with deep and wide swings. And Ven used his back handed style. He would come in with quick combos. They didn't have the power that Terra's hits did, but they were faster. Aqua kept mostly defensive, while using her flips to dodge most of the hits.

They kept at that pace for nearly an hour until Rose walked towards them. "Alright I've seen enough." she said as the trio panted, trying to catch their breath.

"So? How'd we do?" Ven said through gulps of air.

"Not bad for kids I suppose."

Even though Terra was annoyed by what she said, he knew she was pretty much right. They were basically just kids. Well, kids with swords anyway.

She walked away from the three to the center of the deck. A silver bow appeared in her hand. "You three have a lot to learn." and she let loose one of her arrows.

Hell was a good description of the three and a half weeks that followed, Terra thought. Actually It was probably worse. Terra's mind was still screaming from the extensive Hell routine everyday. There were certainly days where Terra thought about jumping over the side and ending it all thousands of feet below, letting death's soft sleep take hold. Never again having to deal with Xehanort, but Rose would probably somehow find a way to drag him back from the dead and push him even harder for trying to quit. Everyday was like a new hell for Terra, Aqua, and Ven. Even Aqua, who was the most disciplined out of the three, would eventually complain that Rose was going too hard on them. Rose would reply with harsher exercises. It had become routine. During the days, they would train for hours. Learning advanced techniques, how to time blocks, how to use footwork to maximize speed and damage. They'd start with simple exercising that would eventually turn into brutal sparring. Sometimes she'd have James or Xion join just to beat the hell out of them. Countless times Ven would complain or Terra would get frustrated about not getting things fast enough. But through it all Rose kept them working, ignoring any show of weakness. If today was five-hundred sword swings, tomorrow would be six-hundred.

The nights weren't much better. Rose would bombard them with giant text books big enough to kill a man. Everything from Heartless, to Nobodies, and even things called Unversed. They memorized over a hundred different types of enemies. When they weren't studying about Heartless, they were learning about magic. Aqua naturally grasped the stuff with ease. Rose praised her with how well she learned it. She taught Aqua things like Thunder to magics like Healing. Rose told Aqua how important it was to know healing spells. It would save the lives of her friends and herself. Ven, like his sword skills, took forever to learn spells. And he was only average at best with it. Terra on the other hand couldn't even make a lousy water spell. Rose would try to teach him every magic she knew, every technique she could think of, but no matter how much she would try, it would only end in a annoyed attitude and she'd call it a night. Terra spent hours through the night attempting the stupid stuff, but no matter what he did, it wouldn't sink in. Aqua tried to help him, but it only caused him more annoyance, and when she persisted, it ended in Terra throwing a book at the wall, and Aqua didn't try again. Instead, Terra relied more on his Keyblade. Perfecting his sword skills all the more.

The only comfort was the few hours of sleep in between sessions. Sometimes Terra would be so tired, he'd skip taking a shower and passed out on his bed with his clothes still on. Aqua though, wouldn't dare miss a shower on her life. Terra and Venmay be fine smelling like pigs, but Aqua wouldn't dream of it. Maybe it was because she was a girl, but she found Terra and Ven's habits repulsive.

But, tonight! Tonight was different and Terra was in high spirits. After more than three weeks they finally finished their training. Rose had said that there was nothing else she could teach them. Everything else would come from experience. Terra wasn't really sore either. Luckily Aqua was really good at healing. Every day after training she would heal Terra and Ven. Finally after three weeks, she could heal almost anything.

When they stopped at a small town to restock supplies, Rose had mentioned that Terra should go out and buy some potions to make up for the lack of magic. It wasn't as good as a Cure spell Rose had said, but at least it would keep him going when the fighting got tough. The training payed off though. He was definitely a much stronger warrior than the one that left Athus that night on the docks. All of them had gotten better. Aqua had her flips better timed, and her magic prowess was off the charts. Much to Rose's dismay, Aqua's was better then hers. Ven was super fast now. He was talented at it and he knew it. He could probably hit Heartless before they'd even see it coming. Although Terra had zero magic ability, he was by no means a bad fighter. He handled his Keyblade better than any of them. And he would need it if he ever hoped to stand a chance against Xehanort. Terra wondered if he even stood a chance against him, then realized quickly that Xehanort was leagues ahead of him. But at least this training got him prepared for anything thrown at him, Terra hoped.

Terra stepped out into the hallway and was passed by an excited Ven and Xion. Venwas going on about something having to do with tons of food and how he was going to eat it all before Terra. Aqua closed her door behind Terra. "First night since we had some free time. We should go outside for some fresh air." Terra eagerly followed.

They found the living room up top to be packed. It was Cid's idea to throw a small party in honor of the newly trained Keyblade Apprentices. There was now a table with huge platters of food. Something that looked like ham sat in the middle. Meaty slices dripping juices that it marinated in. The biggest bowl of mashed potatoes Terra had ever seen. Corn on the cob was neatly stacked in the shape of a pyramid. There was blue jello in the shape of a Chocobo. No one wanting to eat the beautiful art that James made. At one end of the table were desserts. Trays of cookies. The tubs of sea salt ice cream were kept in ice buckets to keep from turning into sea salt water. Gross. There were at least 10 other dishes Terra didn't even recognize. This weird orange gooey stuff that didn't look appetizing at all. A wide cup full of these black balls with white tips that Terra hoped were not Heartless eggs. Heartless didn't have eggs, did they? Terra wouldn't find out.

"Wow Cid! you really outdid yourself tonight." James said.

Cid gave a toothy grin. "Yup, and it's comin' outta yur pay."

"What!?" James sunk his head while Cid cackled slapping James on the back.

Rose was sitting in a chair sipping coffee through a green mug with the lettering _Sierra _inscribed on it. Ven and Xion were at a table. Ven tried to see how many corn dogs he could eat in a minute. After the fourth one got lodged in his throat sideways and it took the combine effort of Xion and James to cough it up, he called it quits. Terra and Aqua skipped the party and instead went outside.

From outside they could still hear the faint sounds of the party. Tonight was like most others. Clear with a few clouds sailing along. Below, Terra saw lights from the few houses spread out through the rolling hills. "Hey Terra?"

Terra shifted from the view below now to Aqua. "What is it Aqua?"

Terra noticed she seemed uncomfortable. "Well...I know I chose to come along and all but, why did we have to leave so suddenly? I mean what will my mother think. I haven't talked to her in weeks."

"Yeah." Terra said. "I was thinking about that too. She's gonna be pretty pissed huh?"

Aqua made a sour look.

"Well don't worry about it. I'm sure when we go back you can explain."

"Where would I start?"

Using his best Aqua impersonation he said, "Hey mom. Me, Terra, and Ven got these Keyblades and we're battling this bald old crusty dude to go save the world....don't ground me."

Aqua gave a face that said: I don't sound like that. And Terra gave a face that said: Couldn't tell the difference. Aqua shot a fire ball at Terra that just barely grazed his cheek. "Whoa!" he said diving to the side. Aqua chuckled as Terra patted himself to make sure he wasn't on fire.

The door slammed open as Ven ran across the deck and stuck his head over the side. And puked. Nice. Fast falling puke.

"Ven!" Aqua said like a disappointed mother.

"Haha. Was that a corn dog I saw?" Terra said leaning against the rail.

"One of them." Ven said all woozy and wiped his mouth.

"Looks like we're missing all the fun."

"Looks like it." Aqua replied.

"You coming Ven?"

"Yeah, just keep me away from the food." he said as he followed them inside.

**Author's Note:Another chapter up. I was sick this week and I was having a hard time getting motivated to do this, but it's finally up. XD **


	11. A Hunch

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Sweat beads ran down his forehead as he ran, his heart racing as it usually did in battle. Now months since he became a wielder of the Key. A Neoshadow shot up through the ground mere inches from Terra's face. The long zigzag antenna wiggled back and forth. Time seemed to slow for the warrior as he unconsciously pulled his Keyblade in an upward arc, separating the Neoshadow in two and dissolving the usual way Heartless did. The action took seconds, and Terra didn't even slow his pace as he ran ahead. Aqua and Ven, who had been right behind Terra, stopped abruptly as two Large Bodies appeared in front of them.

"Terra, wait for us!" Aqua yelled to him, but Terra had either not heard from that distance and because of the heavy wind, or from purpose.

The two Large Bodies looked at Aqua and Ven, as if seeing which ones' heart tasted better. Their yellow beady little eyes turned from left to right inside their little heads, dwarfed by their large fat bodies. Their club-like arms waved back and forth like pendulums when they walked. One of the Large Bodies felt bold and decided to attack first. Aqua blasted it with ice, making the Large Body slower and clunky then it already was from the shards of ice. Ven, remembering what he learned about Large Bodies' stomachs being harder than steel, quickly dashed around to the back side. With the Large Body practically frozen stiff, Ven easily made three quick slashes, and the Large body was done. It's heart drifting off into the sky. The second Large body was already throwing one of it's large black fists at Aqua, but Aqua was faster as a jet of fire rose in between her and the fist. The Large Body reeled back in pain. It did a belly flop and preceded to slide towards Aqua like it was surfing. The motion was almost comical if Aqua didn't know it was going to run her over. She did a cartwheel to move out of the way, knowing at that speed and weight, it would crush her petite and slender form. The Large Body circled around for another attempt, as Ven ran up speedily and gave it a whack just as it passed by. That caused the Large body to veer off course and Aqua cast down a lightning bolt right where the Large Body was heading. With great timing, it landed directly on top of the Large Body's back. The second Large Body was no more.

Aqua huffed, blowing a lock of hair out of her face. "Jeez, what was Terra thinking, leaving us behind like that?"

"Give him a break," Ven said with a smile. "We've been chasing Xehanort for weeks. Terra's just anxious we finally have a lead."

"Just because this town has a report of a strange Heartless sighting doesn't mean it's necessarily Xehanort's doing." she said.

"Terra believes so." Ven replied.

Terra's feet carried him to the top of the hill. He stopped to take a quick look back at the winding road behind him. _Strange, Aqua and Ven must of got lost or something_. How did he not notice? No matter. Terra's focus was ahead. He ran down the slope, catching quick glances of some small houses nestled in the trees off in the distance. He was almost at the bottom when three Air Soldiers manifested into reality. Terra cleaved his sword through two of them easily, but the third moved to the side just in time to miss the cold golden blade. It caught Terra's leg with it's claw sending Terra tumbling down the rest of the hill. Terra finally stopped with a painful thud at the bottom.

"Oww, that smarts." he said rubbing his head soothingly. Terra looked up to see....a giant white arm swinging for his head. Terra barely had time to raise his Keyblade when the powerful arm collided with it. A metal "wang" was made as Terra was sent flying. Before slamming his head into the ground, Terra extended his arm out, and pushed off the ground with his left hand, doing a handspring and landing back on his feet. The huge Nobody towered over Terra, It's scarf-like tentacles wiggling with excitement. "A Nobody? But, wasn't it suppose to be a Heartless!?"

In his confusion, Terra didn't see the black tendril of darkness sneaking up behind him. Terra felt a sharp pain on his waist. He looked down and saw nothing. The giant Nobody slithered down with amazing speed and flexibility. It's face right up against Terra's, staring at him with curiosity. Then quickly losing interest, the Nobody flinged it's massive hand, sending Terra flying again. This time though, Terra smashed into the trees behind him. Using his Keyblade for support, he climbed back to his feet. He flung himself at the Nobody. He dodged two dark tendrils and latched onto the Nobody's arm. With his muscle strengthened free arm, he pulled himself onto the Nobody's shoulders. He got two slashes in on the Nobody's head. As Terra went for a third, the Nobody whipped it's head back and forth. Terra with only one hand holding on and the other holding Old One, was thrown off as if he was a mere child holding onto a parent's leg. He was roughly tossed to the ground. Terra on all fours, was looking at the ground when a giant shadow eclipsed him. He looked up to see the giant's hand coming in for a bone crushing smash. Terra rolled out of the way as the ground behind him exploded, sending dust and gravel everywhere. The Nobody wasn't finished. It came for a second try when the sound of lightning cracked overhead. The Nobody wiggled backwards away from the source of the pain. Terra looked over to see Aqua and Ven running over to him.

Aqua made it to Terra first, as Ven ignored Terra for the moment to charge strait at the hulking Nobody. "Are you alright?" she said in a concerned voice.

He looked at her with his bruised face. "About time you guys showed up. What took ya?"

"We had a Heartless problem. Oh, and thanks for ditching us by the way." she said, all traces of concern gone from her voice.

"Sorry, guess I didn't notice." he said guiltily.

"Uh huh," she folded her arms. "and now look at you."

Terra just gave a wry smile. "Your hopeless, you know that?" Aqua said as she healed the wounds on Terra. "Really you should be more careful. What would I do if you-"

"Uhhh guys!" Ven interrupted. The Nobody was holding Ven in one of it's hands. "Getting hard...to...breathe." he barely managed to get out.

"Hold on Ven." Aqua throw her Keyblade. It lit up with a bluish hue as it spun and smashed into the Nobody's face. Terra followed up with a giant swing as he jumped and cut at the arm holding Ven. Ven was released as the Nobody hissed in pain. "I never would of thought I'd see a Twilight Thorn here." Aqua said staring at the enormous hissing Nobody.

"You know what that 'thing' is?" Ven asked, rubbing his sides.

"I read it in one of the books on the ship. They're rare, but they do show up from time to time."

"But why is it here instead of the Heartless?" Terra asked eying it.

"Maybe it was mistaken for a Heartless. I mean, how many people know the difference between a Heartless and a Nobody?"

"Makes sense to me." Ven said agreeing with Aqua.

The Twilight Thorn angrily threw both arms at the trio. Terra and Ven jumped over the arms and ran to opposite sides of the Twilight Thorn. Aqua, who was still in the middle of the oncoming arms, jumped upside down. As she did, Winter Tundra twirled around her with magic. The magic spun around like a twirling cage of colors and light. As the arms came in to trap her, they hit the light magic and painfully ricocheted off in different directions. As soon as Aqua stopped, she jumped away from the flailing arms' crushing strength.

Ven turned Scrap Metal forward and shot a jet of water at the creature. Aqua cast down a bolt of thunder as Ven shot it out of his Keyblade. The Twilight Thorn stumbled onto the ground.

"Your finished!" Terra yelled, as he fell from the sky. He slammed Old One with both hands onto Twilight thorn's Head. It made a loud screeching noise before getting swallowed by a giant black and purple ball of darkness.

Terra, Aqua, and Ven were left panting on the ground.

"I...guess Xehanort isn't here either." Terra said soberly, staring nowhere iimportant.

"Just another wild goose chase." Ven said holding his knees, huffing.

"Well, after that I'd rather not face Xehanort anyway." Aqua said with a sigh of relief.

Terra got up and, as he brushed himself off, was already descending to the village below. Aqua and Ven followed.

The path to the village was an easy one, even if it took twenty minutes. "My feet are killing me!" Ven complained.

"We can stop at a shop to eat and rest," Terra said as they neared the village gates.

The village was small. It was a farming village that made it's income on the produce from the many fields around. The small village was built on land with rich soil that gave farmers enough to busy themselves with for a long time. Terra had seen the many acres of flat land surrounding them back in the hills.

The three had finally made it to a quaint shop on the northern part of town. Ven and Aqua squished into a booth, while Terra sat on the opposite side.

"Alright Terra, you know what's coming. Thanks to last weeks incident, you're treating us." Ven said smugly with a toothy grin.

Terra knew Ven. Terra knew Ven's appitite too.

"Is that true Terra? You're treating today?" Aqua asked. "What happened last week between you and Ven?"

"Errr...it's not that mportant." He stared at Ven. "I figured he'd forget anyway."

Terra shook his Munny sack under the table. Killing Heartless wasn't exactly a huge paying job. Heartless hardly ever dropped enough Munny to be worthwhile. Ven was sure to eat until he either passed out or his stomach exploded. Which ever came first.

"I'm gonna start off with pancakes." Ven said wetting his lips.

"Pancakes at four?" Terra shook his head.

Aqua gave an apologetic smile that said, _I'm sorry_.

"Tea sounds good."

Afterwards, they headed back to the Sierra that was parked 200 paces from the village. Terra, with a scowl and an empty Munny sack, was at least content with a full stomach of good food. After searching all day for Xehanort and his Apprentice and running into countless Heartless, food was a good way to end a bad day.

"Still nothing huh?" Xion asked only to get her answer on their faces when they boarded the Sierra.

James was still napping on the couch and Rose had retired to her room hours ago.

"Any luck?" Cid asked, walking through the doorway.

"None", Ven said exhausted as he slumped down next to James.

Aqua joined Ven and rubbed her sore ankles. "If only there was some clues."

Cid said while rubbing his nose, "Well get comfy. We're heading to Traverse Town. It'll be a three hour and somethin' ride."

Xehanort was sitting on a large throne. He was wearing a frown on his face, as he usually did. Shinji came through the large double doors at a brisk walk. His footsteps echoed with each step on the white marble flooring. On either side of him windows lined the wall, pouring sunshine through the enormous room. The only shade came from the even taller ceiling and Xehanort's throne. Or maybe from Xehanort himself.

Shinji was wearing his new outfit that Xehanort crafted for him. The full body suit was mostly red and black. The top part was black and tight enough to mold with his muscles. Near his hands, it turned a red color, giving off the appearance of finger-less red gloves. There was also a giant black and red shaped insignia covering his chest and abs. Around his waist was a red belt, with two criss-crossing ones underneath. Also around his waist was a blackish blue, worn out-looking skirt. His legs had the same skin tight black material, except there was some red on the knees. He wore black-blue boots on his feet that completed the outfit. The outfit wasn't just smooth either. The whole thing had ridged vein-like lines covering him from head to toe.

"Well?" Xehanort asked in an icy calm voice that made Shinji's spine tingle.

"I found him." Shinji said bowing on one knee.

"Good."

Shinji looked up, "Master?"

Xehanort got up from his throne and smiled a dangerous smile. "We're one step closer."

Cid was right. About the three hour ride. Though for Terra, it felt more like one. Terra layed down to get a little shut eye. It seemed like he just touched the pillow when Cid's voice signaled the arrival of Traverse Town. Now Terra was wondering through the streets at the early hours of night. With Aqua.

Nearby, A cloaked figure crouched on a building roof. A round small man was walking through the streets. A smile of glee like a child was adorn on his face. The man was lightheaded from a couple drinks he had earlier. Celebrating his new fortune. His business came from another town far off. He owned a mine that his now deceased father ran. His father had been a decent man. Fair and compassionate towards his workers. After he died, his 33 year old son took over the family business. He was less sympathetic. He worked the miners harder for less pay. The miners had no choice but to work if they were to come home with food for their families. Of course that put more money in this greedy scum's pocket.

_A man no one will miss, _the cloaked man thought. He'd been watching the round mousy man for a while now. Studying his movements, waiting for the right moment. It was getting dark, and although there was still people around, it was certainly less crowded now that most people were scurrying home to their families and warm beds.

The man rounded the corner into an alleyway. That was good. The cloaked man rolled off the roof. He spun into a forward flip and landed with hardly a thud onto the stone walkway. The man wobbled into some boxes, toppling them over. That was even better. With the noise of the boxes, the man never heard the cloaked man coming. He never heard the swing of the scythe. The round midget of a man collapsed with a sick smack to the earth. The cloaked man turned, and with a flash of bright pink, he walked away. Left on the ground, was a solitary pink pedal.

Terra was staring at all the new faces that passed by. Aqua was checking the list. Terra and Aqua were assigned groceries. Well Aqua, who voluntared Terra to come too. Now Terra was walking alongside Aqua, who was double checking the list. They got done pretty early, but like all women, Aqua was looking at every single thing they passed. Was window shopping a profession for women? Terra couldn't understand when a girl would say "I just want to look at one more thing." or "Just one more look." Everything was just one more look. Terra didn't mind so much. At least he had some time alone with Aqua. Terra realized Aqua and him haven't got to hang out much since the night at Stillius. Sure there was the party, but it wasn't quite the same thing. His heart ached a little while he remembered his old life at Twilight Town. _And I wanted to go on adventures._ Gods! What was he thinking?

"Ohhh, Terra look at this one! Isn't it beautiful? I wonder how I would look in that dress." Aqua said with bright eyes.

Terra didn't really understand. Aqua looked beautiful already. She wore her outfit that Rose suggested. It consisted of a blue shirt, though the backside was almost completely bare besides two pink laces that went around to the front and criss-crossed her chest. Her midsection was black and had two white laces on either side that criss-crossed down to her waist. She wore light brown finger-less gloves. From her wrist to her shoulder was covered by a long, and baggy white sleeves on both arms. Though the sleeves didn't quite reach the shoulder. They cut about an inch away. On her sleeves, was a weird layered armor. At the top of the layered piece, was an orange circle. Maybe just decoration. On the backside of her waist, was a blue skirt that went down past her knees. There was another white cloth over it that tied into a loop on both sides of her waist. Her front was open, exposing black shorts. There was about an inch of skin in between the shorts and the same black colored leggings. Her feet were covered with shiny metal boots that pointed at the end.

Aqua caught Terra staring and blushed. "What is it?"

Terra also blushed then. "It would look nice. T-the dress I mean."

Aqua smiled and Terra rubbed the back of his head in shy embarrassment.

He threw the Munny pouch into the air and then caught it. It was less then he would of liked for this sort of job, but he couldn't complain. It was easy Munny this time. He heard someone talking nearby. A woman.

"Well, that was nice wasn't it? And we got everything on the list. This town has-"

Aqua slammed into something hard. "Oww." she said as she rubbed her head. "Sorry I wasn't watching where I-". She stared at the person she knocked into. He was tall. He wore a long black cloak that covered him from head to toe. He even wore black gloves and boots to match. There was a long zipper that went all the way down. He also wore a chained necklace. Aqua couldn't see his face through the hood, but she could see the cold blue eyes.

"Sorry about that. We weren't paying attention." Terra added, but the cloaked figure seem to be ignoring him. He picked up his Munny pouch and walked past them without a second glance. "What was that about?"

"I don't know." Aqua answered. "Let's head back for now."

She gave him a warm smile and he returned it.

The cloaked man was leaning against a wall in an empty lot. The sounds of night was the only thing he could hear now. He heard a noise come from the shadows. A moment later, a figure stepped out into the moonlight. The cloaked man, now on the defensive, summoned his deadly scythe.

Shinji, wearing the same outfit, but with a new black and red helmet, put his hands up. "I'm not here to fight. I want to take a contract."

The hooded figure lowered his weapon. "How much." he said more like a statement than a question.

"Ten times the normal rate you charge."

_Ten times!? _

Shinji couldn't tell what his face expression was. It was actually kind of annoying. "What do you say?"

"Fine." the cloaked man said almost quickly.

"His name is Terra. He's become a pest." Truth be told, Shinji wasn't exactly sure why Master Xehanort wanted this man to attack Terra. He only assumed it was because Terra would get in the way. Shinji wasn't completely sure that was it though.

"What does he look like?" the man asked.

"You can't miss him. He has blue eyes and brown spiky hair. He wears this idiotic get up. A dark T-shirt and tan Hakama. His left arm is covered in armor.

_That kid back there? Shit, my fortune bumped into me not an hour ago. _He laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Shinji asked finding nothing about this amusing.

"You got a deal."

"Are you sure you're up to it?

"They don't call me 'The Graceful Assasin' for nothing."

Shinji opened a portal beside him. "Don't fail me," and walked in, leaving the man by himself. The cloaked man stared back towards Traverse Town and mumbled one word. "Terra." he smiled.


	12. Help from an Old Friend

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Terra walked mindlessly through the cobblestone streets of Traverse Town with a frown. Two days had passed since he got here. He wasn't any closer to finding Xehanort. Not that he figured he would here. Still...

He stopped outside a bakery. The fresh smell of Cinnamon rolls wafted through the air. Terra's stomach ached in protest. He hadn't eaten since last night, and it was nearing noon now. "Nothing like food to get my mind off things," he said while shuffling around his pocket for Munny.

He found a Park nearby and planted himself on a green bench with the bag of Cinnamon rolls.

He made quick work of the first Cinnamon roll to stave off the pain in his stomach. He decided to take his time on the second one rather than inhale it. The roll was like soft heaven, laced with sweet frosting. Every piece better than the last. Terra swallowed the last bits, while letting the aftertaste mentally burn into his memory.

"This place sure is peaceful. I couldn't picture Heartless attacking." And it was true. Since they arrived, not a single Heartless had appeared. Not that Terra was the least bit sad about it. Terra did want to get some training in. That was evident. It was just nice not to worry about that sort of stuff. They had been fighting the Heartless for months now.

He sat back on the bench with his arms spread out. The sky was a deep shade of blue. His favorite. A few puffy bright clouds sailed along, passing in and out of the sun's rays. Nature's own strobe light. Kids played with their parents. Couples walked hand in hand with each other. The people seemed all well mannered and happy, the result of a peaceful lifestyle. Traverse Town wasn't super big or anything. It had a few market streets surrounded by residential areas, but the people seemed content with what they had.

"Mind if I join you?"

Terra jerked up in surprise, which made Aqua jump in equal surprise. "Aqua! What are you doing here?"

"I saw you laying there when I was passing by." Terra sat up to let Aqua sit. "Ice cream?" she asked, pulling apart a popsicle of Sea-salt ice cream.

"Thanks." Terra said greatful. Not about the actually Ice cream, but by the act of getting it from Aqua. It was just like back at Twilight Town, but without a creepy old man pervertedly watching you like a crow.

"It's nice out today, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah. The sky sure is sexy today." She giggled at that. Terra loved it when he made her giggle.

He took a bite of the blue treat. It was sweet, with a hint of salty. It sounded gross, but once you tried it, you understood how amazing it was.

The two stayed in that park long after they finished their Ice cream. Terra closed his eyes. He let the cool breeze wash over him. The sounds of wind hit the trees, making every leaf wiggle like wind chimes

Terra opened his eyes from his nature induced euphoria and hunched over forward. "Hey Aqua?"

Aqua seemed to be doing something similar to Terra as she lazily replied, "Yeah?"

"Do you regret coming?"

"What?" she said more alert.

"Do you regret coming with me? You know, leaving our friends and family behind. You brought it up during the party.." he avoided her gaze, "and...Are you angry?"

Aqua tilted her head to the side as if figuring out Terra's meaning. " Not angry. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't homesick or that I thought we shouldn't of ignored a stranger's request to go help him kill crazy dark creatures.

Terra didn't meet her eyes. "But, I think I made the right choice in following you.

Terra looked at her this time. "Really?"

She nodded. "Well, pretty sure. I still don't know how this will turn out."

At least he didn't screw up as bad as he thought. It gave him a odd sensation. He felt lighter.

"Where's Ven by the way?"

"Off with Xion I think. Those two have been hanging out a lot lately."

"Hmm..." So had Aqua and him. In the past couple of days, Terra found himself with Aqua for the majority. When they were kids, the three of them would play all day long. For a kid, a simple thing like tag could induce hours of fun. They'd make every second of summer count. Ven moved to his grandmother's before High school, and once that started, Terra and Aqua wouldn't spend as much time together. There would be the normal get-together. Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Aqua and Terra. Always ate lunch together. Had a few classes together. Sat next to each other on the train to and from school. And of course there was the walks home. Terra and Aqua would be left alone for half the walk. They never said much, but Terra enjoyed it all the same. It was quiet and slow-paced, but nice.

Aqua was more of just a casual friend now that Terra thought about it. Hell Terra hardly went over Aqua's house. Her mother thought Terra was a bad influence. Most people had that same thought process. If not outwardly kind and generous, Terra was never mean to anyone. Usually. Seifer was the "Douche bag" of douche bags. But, everyone loved him because he was on the discipline comity. Terra ignored him for the most part, but true to his nature, Seifer would seek out trouble with his two goons Rai and Fuu. Rai had this annoying tick where he'd have to broadcast every one of Seifer's actions with a special "Y' know?" at the end of it. Fuu was...well there wasn't much to say about Fuu other than her creepy one worded sentences.

Even though Terra always had a small thing for the blue-haired girl, he was finding himself drawn to her more and more this past year. He was excited when he finally met Ven again, but even then, it felt different then now, here with Aqua. When the three of them were together, it was like old times. Him and his two best friends in the whole world, but now...

He stared at Aqua. She seemed more radiant today. She was in a good mood and it was contagious. Terra felt better. Maybe he was more lonely back at home then he thought.

She was looking back at him too. She gave him that smile. The same smile she always gave. The one different then her usual one. Reserved only for him. Though that was probably his imagination, it looked great. Amazing.

The wind picked up. It whipped Aqua's beautiful blue hair across her face and brushed against her neck. Terra's pulse quickened for a second.

Terra finding it suddenly hard to speak, shifted uncomfortably. Aqua noticed and asked, "You ok?"

Terra grabbed the back of his head. "Yeah." he swallowed. "Ummm...I was thinking, since we don't have anything to do. you wanna take a walk?" He intended it to sound like a casual request, but his voice quivered at the last syllable. Aqua either didn't notice, or did and ignored it.

"Sure."

"Damn! Nothing." James moaned as they left the store.

Rose shook her head in annoyance. "Complaining won't find Xehanort any faster." she said as they walked along.

James rolled his eyes and put his hands on his head. "Why did I even agree to help that guy anyway?"

"Because my Grandfather needed your help. Besides, don't you owe him?"

"For what?"

"For the roof under your head? Warm food and a bed?"

_"What have we here?" Zenthus said in a kind voice._

_"Please," James said in a raspy one, "could you give me some food?"_

_Zenthus gave a warm chuckle. "Luck was on your side today."_

"Fine. But this is pretty damn troublesome."

Rose sighed, "Let's check this street."

A brown-haired man walked in front of an abandoned building. A Neoshadow materialized from the ground. His back up against the wall, he lifted his sword to waist height. The Neoshadow leaped at the man. It's claws met steel, and sparks flew. The Neoshadow lost it's footing and staggered a little. The man spun around and swung to the left of himself with amazing speed and accuracy, and drove his sword right through the Neoshadow's head. As the Neoshadow vanished into the unknown, a girl with a black bob cut walked up to him. She wore a wide grin and said, "Nice one Squall."

He put his sword over his shoulder. "That's Leon."

The girl put her hands on her hips and asked, "Did you get any leads?"

Leon sighed, "None. You?"

"Uhhh...well," she started.

"Again? How many times are you going to _forget_?"

"Hey! It's not my fault," she said in a defensive tone. "It was such a nice day and I got bored, so I..."

"Yuffie, we're not here to clown around." He put away his sword and started walking. "Guess we'll keep searching."

"Righto! But first can we stop by the Hotel for a quick nap I'm...."

"No. You haven't even done anything today."

"Ahh c'mon Squall!" she whined. Realizing she wasn't gonna back down he sighed again.

"Fine, a quick one."

"Yay!" she happily bounced up and down.

"Man, you're as cheerful as ever," he turned back to face her. "Hey, wasn't Cid suppose to get here?"

"Huh? Oh!" Yuffie fished her pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Here it is."

"Well, what does it say?" he asked impatiently.

"Uhhh...", she scratched her head. "Says Cid wants us to stop by the Thirsty Barrel."

"When?"

"Errr...two days ago!" she said smiling.

Leon slapped his face." Yuffie!"

"Hey don't get mad at me! I tried to tell you we got it, but you said: Yuffie leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep." she said in her best grumpy voice.

Realizing she was right, he gave up. "Fine, let's just get to Cid."

"What about my nap!?"

"It'll have to wait."

"Awww!" she moaned. Leon was already heading off into the main street. Yuffie kicked a pebble, letting the small stone clank against the ground a few times, then followed right behind him.

The Thirsty Barrel was about a mile away. The sun had reached its climax and was now starting to descend. Leon's coat flapped about as he made his way over the first hill. Yuffie behind, still scowling about her nap that could of been.

"Yuffie. Hurry up," Leon said, as he noticed she was getting farther away.

"Yeah, Yeah," she hollered back to him.

They reached The Thirsty Barrel a few minutes later. The giant sign shaped like an alcohol bottle with gold lettering with the words: Thirsty Barrel above the door.

When they entered the bar, the bar keep gave a wave with a friendly smile, which Leon repeated. A quick scan showed that Cid wasn't here. Leon walked over to the bartender. She was a pretty woman, possibly in her late thirties.

"What can I get ya?" she asked, and looked over to yuffie.

Leon realized and said, "Don't worry, we're not here to drink." Leon watched as the pretty bartender rubbed a shot glass with a wash cloth. "Have you seen a man come by here the past couple of days. He has blond spiky hair, and usually smokes a cigarette. Sometimes wears a blue coat and goggles over his hair."

The bartender looked up before grabbing another shot glass, "I have. He came in during the last two days. Looked like he was waiting for someone, I'm guessing you two." Leon nodded his head in confirmation. "He'll probably be in here today. He usually stops by around this time.

"Ok, thanks," Leon turned to Yuffie. "Let's stay here for a while."

"Ok." Yuffie ran over to a table in the back, while Leon followed her. Leon plopped himself across from Yuffie and sighed.

It was almost an hour when the little bell above the door tingled for the hundredth time. A man stepped in. He made a B-line for the front counter when...

"CID!!!" Yuffie screamed. Every person in the room turned to where the crazy loud mouth was sitting. Leon rubbed his face while Yuffie's turned crimson, and she awkwardly slumped back down, holding her hands on her lap.

Cid walked over and pulled up a seat next to the pair. "Well you haven't changed a bit," he said as he gave a dry laugh. Cid yelled for the cheapest beer the Thirsty Barrel had, and a waitress brought one shortly after.

"So," he said pouring the bubbling liquor into a glass and gulping it down instantly, "been awhile since we last met."

"Yeah. Why did you call us all of a sudden?" Leon asked.

Cid poured another glass. "Any o' you know anything about a guy named Xeha- err," Cid pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and un-crumpled it. "Xehanort?"

"Xehanort?" Leon searched his memory, trying to connect the name with a face. "I have no idea." he said honestly. He looked over to Yuffie, who had her chin on the table.

"Nope!" she said without moving.

"He's been creatin' a ruckus. Disturbing the natural order of things.

"Is he dangerous?"

"He's got a Keyblade."

"Keyblade?"

"Wait," Yuffie interrupted, "I thought Keybearers were suppose to keep the worlds in order."

"Well, Xehanort don't think so," Cid countered as he took another gulp. "And he has an apprentice with him too."

"So we're screwed?" Leon asked pessimistically.

"Not quite. I have four Keybearers on my ship. Though, they could use a touch up."

"Four?" Leon asked surprised.

"Yep. And I was hope'n you could help me out a little."

Yuffie sat up interested. "Like what?"

"You mind comin' aboard the Sierra?"

"If we left, who would protect Traverse Town?" Leon asked.

"Don't worry about that. James an' Rose will do it."

"They're here too?" Yuffie asked.

"Have you met them?"

"Only a few times." Leon answered for her.

"So? How 'bout it?"

"We've been in Traverse Town for a long time, Cid," Leon said. When Cid didn't move, he countinued, "You can't just expect us to leave with you."

"No, I don't," he said matter-of-fact.

"We're kinda looking for something as well." Leon rubbed his temples, "Where are you going?"

Cid drained the last of his drink and threw some munny onto the table. "Radiant Garden."

**AN: I'm switching out Rose and James for Leo-Squall and Yuffie for a little while Tee Hee.**


	13. A Nightly Encounter

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, All the characters, settings, and names belong to its respected owners.**

Leon watched Cid's blue jacket sway back and forth. He'd been watching it for over 4 minutes now. Cid was already on his second cigarette and Leon wondered how such a man could be in that great of shape. Come to think of it, Cid was always smoking. How old was Cid for that matter?

While Leon was pondering these useless things, Cid called back to them and said, " How long's it been?"

"Too long," Leon admitted.

Yuffie shook excitedly. "Oh I wonder how Aerith is doing, and maybe Cloud came back so Aerith can stop worrying, oooh and..."

Leon quickened his pace to match upside Cid,thankful Yuffie didn't notice in her babbling trip down memory lane. "What can you tell us about the four Keybearers?"

"Them? Well they're a strange bunch o' kids. Let's see..." Cid scratched the golden stubble on his chin before continuing. "There's Terra. He seems to be the oldest. Pretty calm, but a temper to match. Aqua: a girl with blue hair and easily the smartest of them. "Ventus' the little blond one. He's...different. And last is Xion. Came with James. Don't know much else 'bout her."

_Strange indeed. _Leon thought. "Cid?"

"What is it kid?"

"How much are we getting payed for this?"

Cid turned to face Leon as he kept walking straight ahead. "Payed?"

* * *

"Are you sure it's suppose to have that color?"

"Dunno. Never seen a Chocobo with an orange tint before." Terra admitted as he stared at the oddly colored bird with mild intrest.

"Excuse me?" Aqua motioned, and the owner walked over. "Can you tell me how you got the little guy so orange?"

The plump man started eagerly talking away. Something about diet. Terra was only half listening. His thoughts were trained more on how Aqua looked then. A sparkle in her eye. A look she seemed to acquire whenever she was learning something new and exciting.

Terra popped out of his gaze to hear the last bit. "I see! I've never heard of doing it that way before." Aqua said, and they waved goodbye to the man who returned back to his position moments before.

They continued down a road that led them away from shops, since they'd been to about a dozen now. Shadows cast down on them as they passed street lamps. The sun had already dipped below the trees, and only a faint orange line showed below the prevailing dark blue of wind picked up, tossing a few leaves across the road. The sounds of moving people and store fronts were soon replaced by the quiet chirping of crickets. This part of town had more trees, so this was where most of the wild life resided.

Aqua turned to Terra and asked, "That was fun, wasn't it?"

Terra hummed in agreement. Quiet, other than the pitter-patter of was good. Aqua's arm brushed against Terra's, though she didn't pull away. Make that a very good day.

It was then that Terra first noticed him. He stood about ten paces away, under the shadow of trees, though the faint light of one of the lamps gave his features away. Hands at his sides, he patiently waited for the Keybearers to get into shouting distance. Terra immediately recognized him as the hooded man Aqua bumped into from the other day. From the look on Aqua, she had remembered as well.

Though he seemed harmless back then, he now looked like some twisted creature of dark in the moving shadows. Aqua tensed as the man spaced his arms out ever so slightly and Terra shifted sideways and stretched his feet wider apart. Like a cat, the man pounced on his target. There was a flash of pink as a giant scythe formed above the hooded man. Another flash, but this time it was Terra and they clashed. Hard. Terra was kneed square in the chest and he fell backward. Without pause, the man spun clockwise as the scythe whistled through the air. Aqua screamed, gripped Terra's hand above his Keyblade, and yanked him towards her.

The man only seem slightly taken aback and was already following up with another swing. Aqua called forth her Keyblade, Winter Tundra. She bravely swung at the crazed man, who stuck his blade into the ground and Winter Tundra harmlessly bounced off it. Terra took the moment and lunged at him. Unfortunately he only managed to graze the man's cloak as he jumped back,a few pink bangs escaping his hood. Somehow Aqua had gotten behind him during that. He turned just in time get hit by a ball of pure light. The small blast cast shadows on everything for a moment before returning back to darkness. Terra lunged once more to finish him off, but missed, only to have the man run off into the dark woods beyond.

There were sounds of twigs breaking and then nothing. Terra had Old One on guard waiting for any hint of movement. There was none. After a minute, Terra and Aqua were convinced that he wasn't coming back. They dismissed their keyblades, but neither went calm for the rest of the walk back. Both Keybearers kept their guard up until they reached the third street full of stores and houses and were surrounded by people again.

"What...what was that?" Aqua asked with a hint of numbness in her voice.

"No clue. Why the hell did he attack us?"

"Maybe he knew we had the Keyblade," Aqua suggested.

Now worried, Terra said, "Come on. I wanna make sure Ven's alright."

It only took them a little over an hour to reach the Sierra, parked in a clearing. Its lights were bright enough to be seen from the town gates. Once inside, Terra asked the first person he could find, a random engineer, if Ven came aboard, in which the man said he's been back for a while now.

Without thanking the engineer, leaving it up to Aqua, Terra made his way to Ven's room. He knocked quickly and heard a muffled reply as he entered the room with Aqua behind. Ven was sitting on his bed playing some handheld game. Not a scratch on him.

"Where were you?" Terra asked, as he received a confused frown from Ven.

"I went to go eat some Sea-salt ice cream with Xion. Why?"

"Oh. Alright then. I was just checking."

"You guys look like you saw a ghost. Is everything okay?"

Terra and Aqua looked to each other before Aqua replied, "You could say that," which only confused Ven even more.

"If you say so." After a moment's pause Ven added, "Have you met the new guys yet?" before returning his attention back to his game.

"New guys?" Terra asked.

"Yeah. They came with Cid. I guess they're taking over for James and Rose."

"You mean they left without telling us?" Aqua asked surprised.

"Oh right. James left you this." Ven reached over his dresser and handed Terra a folded piece of paper.

Terra unfolded it and read:

_Terra, sorry we weren't here in person, but looks like we'll be busy for a while. Cid's gonna bring you guys to see a true master to complete your training. In the meantime James and I will try and gain information on Xehanort as well as watch over this town. The three of you be careful and stay out of trouble. This means you especially, Terra. Hopefully when we see you next, it'll be under better circumstances. Farewell and good luck._

_Rose_

There was something else scribbled underneath:

Hey Terra, tell that beautiful, sexy Aqua, that her sweet, handsome James will miss her everyday!

Next to it was a sloppy sketch of James' face winking at the reader. Terra shook his head and threw the paper away. He repeated it to Aqua and Ven, leaving James' part out of course.

"A true Master?" Aqua's eyes sparkled with the thought.

"Cid said you could meet them in the morning since it's already late." Ven mentioned.

"That's good. I think I'm tired from today's 'activities', and all I wanna do is hit the hay."

"Ditto," Aqua added before giving a yawn.

"Kay. See you guys in the morning then."

They had left for their separate rooms. Aqua went and took a shower before going to bed. Terra decided to do the same and after drying off and shedding his clothes, smacked his head onto his soft pillow. The Sierra had already taken off while Terra was in the shower. The moon was a full one tonight. Bluish-white filtered into Terra's room. Fish swam lazily around in the overhead fish tank and Terra wondered what happened if one of the fish died. Did someone get them out and replace them?

Terra was tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. Today was long. It went from pleasant to bad really fast. The hooded man screwed everything up. _Why did he attack us anyway?_Terra silently mused as he shifted onto his stomach. He lay there for another hour and a half and muffled a "Damn.", before drifting off into another world.

**Author's note: I had this in my computer for months. I hadn't posted it because I was taking a break from this story to write a couple one-shots and find inspiration to continue this. Had a ton of people add this, so I must be doing something semi-right. I know it's short, but I wanted to post something at least. The next chapter should be up soon, and hopefully much better.**


	14. Author's Note

**Kingdom Hearts: Hearts of Fate and War**

Finally decided to come back to this story. Thank you everyone that read this story and commented on it. Got a decent amount of replies from this. Sorry to those of you that enjoyed it and haven't seen an update for this in forever.

I practically gave up on this thing for a number of reasons. My computer died twice and set me back for a while. My life got busy in general, friends, work,etc. But the biggest reason I gave up, was because I actually don't like what I did with this story. I actually hate it almost. There's so many things I didn't like. James and Rose. Including Xion too soon. My version of Vanitas since I thought him up before the game came out.

I think what I'm gonna do is make a collection of one-shots revolving around this story. It'll be less time consuming that way, especially since I don't have much time anymore. I'm done with this one here though. I'll continue it in a new story of one-shots.

Thanks again for reading. First chapter should be soon.


End file.
